- ICE detained a father in Providence on Tuesday after a video showed him holding his children.
- A recent Chelsea High School graduate was detained outside Boston while heading to work.
- La Colaborativa escorted students home and shifted many activities online.
Trump named Stephen Miller White House chief of staff on November 6, elevating a leading architect of his immigration crackdown. The appointment puts a hard-line immigration adviser in a powerful White House post. It is a promotion, not an order.
Background: Maria Elvira Salazar Warns Trump Deportations Have Gone Too Far in Hispanic District
Three senior Department of Homeland Security officials said no specific enforcement changes had been ordered. The officials expected no pullback.
The 60 Minutes interview did not include him saying deportation policy had been “too tough.” He said the opposite.
The exchange focused on ICE tactics. He defended the raids.
Miller’s promotion did not announce a change to ICE enforcement
The appointment followed midterm losses and debate over the administration’s deportation campaign. Miller’s new role gives him greater influence in the White House, but it does not establish what enforcement decisions will follow.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote on X after the election, “Deportations will continue.” He also defended arrests and removals, saying the administration would not apologize for putting public safety first.
Vice President JD Vance said he was “open to the idea that we should change enforcement,” while opposing amnesty. His comments left room for a change in approach, but did not announce one.
Democrats promised scrutiny. Rep. Robert Garcia, expected to lead the House oversight committee after the midterms, said Miller “should lawyer up” and vowed to investigate his role. Sen. Alex Padilla said Democrats would respond “so will we,” promising oversight, investigations and subpoenas.
The televised exchange showed no softening of his position
Anchor Norah O’Donnell asked about agents tackling a young mother, using tear gas in a Chicago residential neighborhood and smashing car windows. The president said the raids had not gone far enough, blaming judicial constraints.
“I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held back by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama.”
He added, “Yeah, because you have to get the people out.” The question was about enforcement tactics, not a new policy announcement.
Asked about his promise to deport the “worst of the worst,” he replied, “That's what we're doing.” But more than 70 percent of immigrants held by ICE, nearly 60,000 people, had no criminal convictions as of September 21, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
The interview was filmed on a Friday at Mar-a-Lago and aired Sunday night. Its calendar date remains unclear. The interview details establish the setting and days of filming and broadcast, but not a date on the calendar.
The separate “too far” remark concerned a private exchange
The “too far” wording belongs to a separate account of a private conversation, not the televised interview. That account describes Melania Trump raising concern that people she knew were being deported, followed by the president telling Miller the campaign had gone too far.
The two exchanges point in different directions: the private account describes a reported criticism of the deportation drive, while the on-camera answer defended ICE raids. The televised remarks do not substantiate the claim that he called the policy too tough.
Arrests continued as Chelsea families sought support
ICE detained a father in Providence on Tuesday after a video showed agents surrounding him while he held his children. Outside Boston on Wednesday, agents detained a recent Chelsea High School graduate as he headed to work.
Gladys Vega, president and CEO of La Colaborativa, said parts of Chelsea looked like a “ghost town” as the group tracked ICE vehicles. After Chelsea public schools warned families that agents had been spotted nearby, La Colaborativa workers escorted students home and shifted many activities online.
“Our young people are a mess,” Vega said. Some families needed food and housing support after a breadwinner’s arrest left them unable to pay rent, she said.
The published interview transcript includes the exchange about ICE tactics and the administration’s deportation promise.
