(NewsNation) — Homeland Security sources confirm that Border Patrol teams under Commander Gregory Bovino will change tactics in their ongoing enforcement operations.
Instead of sweeping raids like those that have taken place at locations including Home Depot, agents will now be narrowing their focus to specific targets, such as illegal immigrants convicted of heinous crimes.
While the tactics are changing, operations such as “Catahoula Crunch” in NOLA will continue. Thus far, that operation has yielded 250 or more arrests in a week. DHS has said the end goal for the operation is 5,000 arrests.
“We’re not going to be seeing them necessarily grabbing people off the streets as we’ve seen, and in this situation, this was a Home Depot sweep. We did see someone run, and we saw this apprehension in real time,” NewsNation border correspondent Ali Bradley told “The Hill.”
The change comes as polling shows the sweeping raids aren’t being received well by the public.
According to a recent AP-NORC poll, President Trump’s approval rating on immigration in April was 49%, and in December it dropped to 38%, with a 68% disapproval rate.
Border Patrol’s immigration enforcement operations have been visible across several states this year, including in Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, N.C. Many raids have been met with protests and, in some cases, clashes with agents. The operations have also been criticized as going too far.
NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.