
Critics are calling out President Donald Trump for a divisive Sunday night announcement that law enforcement would target migrants in cities at “the core of the Democrat Power Center.”
Trump said on Truth Social that he was ordering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct “the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”
He wrote that he was expanding operations in the nation’s biggest cities, including Los Angeles ― where he has already sent the military to contend with recurring protests against his immigration policies ― as well as Chicago and New York.
“These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens,” Trump claimed. “These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it! There is something wrong with them.”
The president’s rant came just one day after a gunman shot and killed a Democratic lawmaker and her husband, shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker and his wife, and reportedly had a manifesto targeting “many lawmakers and other officials.”
The president’s critics fired back:
He’s openly admitting that he’s politicizing law enforcement. This will not help ICE’s image because he’s asking them to perform a political task. Throw in the decision to shield the red states from law enforcement and he’s clearly hoping to provoke an angry response. At a… https://t.co/KqwM51Wzpl
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) June 16, 2025
"These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!"
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 16, 2025
This sort of dehumanizing language about political opponents is exactly what leads to the horrific shootings we saw yesterday.… https://t.co/E5ecuTomzT
I'm trying to imagine a Democratic president saying openly and proudly that he would be sending federal agents to target the 'Republican Power Center' in Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. We would be in the midst of a civil war before he'd finished saying those words. https://t.co/Le5z2RmdQu
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) June 16, 2025
2 implications of Trump specifically targeting immigrants in Democratic cities: He’s NOT going after immigrants in places where they are least welcome. He IS doing what’s most likely to provoke backlash. We conclude that his goal is not to “solve” the problem but to stir chaos. https://t.co/GGCdJH6n4C
— Robert McCartney (@McCartneyWP) June 16, 2025
This is Trump’s plan. During Covid he withheld PPE and ventilators from large blue cities. Many more died in those locations, especially minorities, due to his political corruption. Now, he’s admitting that’s the reason he wants to focus on blue cities, again. He thinks he can…
— Bill Johnson (@Bill43111) June 16, 2025
The thing is, millions of people believe what this guy is saying. And if you truly believe that 'democrats hate our country and want to destroy it', then it makes violence against them not just acceptable, but preferrable.
— Centrism Fan Acct 🔹 (@Wilson__Valdez) June 16, 2025
It's truly unprecedented to have a president like this. https://t.co/THI5xN5JzG pic.twitter.com/jLVERBsCfa
The day after a political assassination, the president of the United States spews divisive hatred and seeks to pit Americans against each other. Utterly disgusting. https://t.co/RTqPfEsl4G
— Jennifer Erin Valent 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@JenniferEValent) June 16, 2025
This is all bullshit btw. Someone’s mad more people went to protests in all these cities than showed up for his pitiful birthday celebration. https://t.co/qjd5Z2L2JP
— Brian Particelli (@BrianParticelli) June 16, 2025
I’m sure Republicans would be totally cool if a Democratic President called on federal law enforcement to target “Republican Power Centers” like Texas.
— Derek Martin (@dmartkc) June 16, 2025
Every time this guy has a chance to de-escalate he finds a way to instead make things worse. https://t.co/N5ZEUnsgNf
It's amazing how much of this is just *objectively* false. The whole "they're using illegals as voters" thing is an objective lie. Big blue cities have low voter turnout relative to the adult population, which is what you'd expect if many aren't citizens. Plus median age is low. https://t.co/acflSONaQ4
— Sir Humphrey 🇺🇦 (@bdquinn) June 16, 2025
Trump basically just declared war on blue cities
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 16, 2025
“We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, and other such Cities, are the… pic.twitter.com/rIBLxBP0nm
He’s really going to try to occupy blue cities and try to control them. This is ridiculous and he’s only fueling more dissent
— Sycamore’s Source (@sycamoressource) June 16, 2025
Two of the three states with the largest population of people in the U.S. illegally are the red states of Texas and Florida. Trump, notably, does not name their cities when calling on ICE to execute more aggressive immigration raids. https://t.co/X072YC9cSB pic.twitter.com/ZjpfOj76Vj
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 16, 2025
Funny how he didn't mention anywhere in Texas. pic.twitter.com/Ss4lciooyv
— J O H N (@johnholowach) June 16, 2025
20 Years Of Free Journalism
Your Support Fuels Our Mission
Your Support Fuels Our Mission
For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 — we can't do this without you.
We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.
Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again.
We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.
Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
20 Years Of Free Journalism
For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 — we can't do this without you.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Someone is big mad about the crowds at the No Kings protests yesterday.
— Dave Wakeman ↙️ (@dave_wakeman) June 16, 2025