NEW YORK (NewsNation) — The first multiagency operation in New York City under the White House’s new immigration agenda led to multiple arrests, including a suspected leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The raids were conducted Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Among those arrested was 25-year-old Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, who was wanted in a burglary in Colorado. Aurora Police said he was part of a group that threatened residents of two apartments with guns. He faces charges of first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm in Colorado.
It’s unclear if Zambrano-Pacheco will return to Colorado to face charges or be deported.
Illinois man arrested in ICE raid targeting stepson
Over the past week, ICE has launched operations in more than a dozen cities, including Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle and Dallas. Raids have also been reported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In Chicago, at least 1,200 people have been arrested during the raids, including Raul Lopez, a father of four who had been living in the U.S. illegally for more than two decades.
Lopez wasn’t the target of the operation; agents were looking for his stepson, who wasn’t located. His family says they don’t know where he was taken.
“I went close to the truck asking him, like, ‘Just tell me where you’re taking him, just tell me.’ And he just slammed the door, and they drove off. I went to the police station to try to see if I could see where he’s at. I went to the police station; they told me the same thing: that they didn’t know anything about it,” said Lopez’s daughter, Bethzy Lopez.
Chicago mayor slams ‘unconscionable’ ICE raids
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson criticized the raids’ ripple effects, whether unintended or intended.
“To use this moment to popularize fear is something that is unconscionable, and we fully reject the level of intimidation that this administration is trying to uphold,” he said.
In just one week, more than 4,500 people have been arrested during the Trump administration’s crackdown, with ICE’s 25 field offices reportedly ordered to enhance their “routine operations” to meet a quota of 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day.