Trump Administration Plans to Expand Worksite Immigration Enforcement

The administration is coordinating a push to increase immigration raids at worksites in manufacturing, construction and agriculture. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Justice Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are linking arrests to ongoing criminal investigations of fraud, identity theft and benefit violations, aiming to raise enforcement numbers to meet President Donald Trump’s immigration targets.

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Since taking office, Trump has pursued a “law-and-order” immigration agenda, achieving historic deportation numbers while trying to avoid disruption of key sectors. A 2025 raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia sparked a diplomatic dispute with South Korea, underscoring the sensitivity of worksite actions. ICE’s daily arrests have risen to roughly 2,000, and a prior quota set by former White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called for 3,000 arrests per day.

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• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – oversees ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)

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• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – conducts arrests and raids

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• Justice Department – partners on criminal investigations

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• Markwayne Mullin – Secretary of Homeland Security, public face of the enforcement surge

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• Mark Krikorian – Director, Center for Immigration Studies, immigration-policy advocate

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• Stephen Miller – former White House deputy chief of staff who set ICE arrest quotas

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• ICE is detaining about 2,000 individuals per day, up from earlier months.

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• Deportations have averaged over 3,200 daily for several weeks, according to Secretary Mullin.

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• The administration previously set a quota of 3,000 arrests per day.

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• DHS officials cite an “increase in criminal investigations targeting fraud” as the operational basis for upcoming raids.

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DHS spokespeople emphasized that any worksite operation will stem from “criminal investigations” rather than arbitrary sweeps. A White House official stressed the policy “is not new” and that enforcement will follow investigations that prove culpability. Secretary Mullin framed the surge as a means to restore law and order nationwide.

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Immigration hardliners acknowledge the logistical difficulty, warning the effort will “inconvenient some people,” especially employers facing extensive paperwork audits. Industry groups fear labor disruptions in manufacturing, construction and agriculture. The Hyundai raid’s diplomatic fallout illustrates the risk of foreign-owned facilities becoming enforcement targets. Critics also note the administration’s inconsistent guidance to ICE agents regarding farm, hotel and restaurant raids, creating operational “whiplash.”

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Sources differ on ICE’s daily arrest figure: one cites “around 2,000” detainees, while another references the prior target of 3,000 arrests per day. The precise criteria for selecting worksites and the timeline for employer notifications remain unclear, and no data are available on how many employers have been audited to date.

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• “The reality is worksite enforcement isn’t happening and without that the numbers won’t hit the needed levels,” — Administration official

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• “This isn’t a new policy,” — White House official

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• “They’re hard because it’s mountains of paperwork and it requires a lot of analysis and due diligence to put it together to prove culpability,” — Former DHS official

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• “We’re surging every day because we’re trying to restore law and order, regardless of whether you live in a red state or a blue state,” — Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security

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The administration plans to issue employer guidance within weeks and to launch targeted raids where fraud investigations have identified violations. Legal challenges from industry coalitions and civil-rights groups are expected, and congressional oversight may intensify as enforcement numbers rise. The outcome will shape both domestic labor markets and U.S. diplomatic relations with countries hosting foreign-owned plants.

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