“I’m ready to assist,” stated Richard Mack, a former sheriff and founder of the far-right Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, during an interview with WIRED. He claimed to be in contact with Tom Homan, who Trump appointed as his “border czar.” Tim Foley, the leader of the Arizona Border Recon, which labels itself a “non-government organization,” also mentioned his communications with officials from the administration. William Teer, who was the head of the far-right Texas Three Percenters militia, even sent a letter to Trump offering his support. The Southern Poverty Law Center revealed that Homan met with a representative of the Proud Boys after the election, reportedly discussing deportations.
Despite the eagerness of these militia leaders and extreme right-wing groups to be deployed in American cities to apprehend immigrants at gunpoint, the anticipated call never materialized. Instead, the Trump administration has completely overhauled the federal government, rendering the involvement of far-right groups unnecessary for instilling fear and trauma in immigrant communities nationwide. The administration has relied on a significantly expanded federal apparatus, including agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the FBI, the DEA, and various state and local law enforcement officers. This newly fortified force operates not only with a substantial influx of funding but also with implicit endorsement from the White House to pursue any means necessary to achieve Trump’s ambitious deportation objectives.
Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council, remarked, “What we are witnessing is the Trump administration effectively restructuring the federal government to facilitate mass deportation. This has involved redirecting law enforcement resources from numerous agencies that have previously never engaged in low-level immigration arrests, focusing them solely on profiling and detaining immigrants.”
While the past year has inflicted considerable damage on immigrant communities in the United States, experts caution that the gravest challenges lie ahead. They express deep concern over the installation of CBP, known for its history of alleged human rights violations, as the lead agency in the immigration crackdown.
Naureen Shah, director of government affairs at the American Civil Liberties Union, stated, “I believe we are just at the inception. We have yet to witness the full extent of what is to come. They will escalate dramatically in the upcoming months.”
In his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to initiate the “largest deportation effort in our nation’s history” during his second term. Within days of reclaiming the Oval Office in January, he enacted several executive orders aimed at fulfilling the demands of his supporters.
The individual assigned to implement Trump’s deportation agenda was Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who spent the early months of the administration pretending to be an immigration agent. She received assistance from Homan and her “shadow secretary” Corey Lewandowski. However, the actual immigration policy has been largely dictated by Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, who has a long-standing reputation for promoting white nationalist ideologies. In recent months, the administration has approved raids in previously protected areas such as schools, courthouses, and hospitals; forcibly deported individuals to countries with which they had no ties without due process; and arrested elected officials. In response to protests, the administration deployed military forces to downtown American cities to address the virtually non-existent threat of violence.
In July, as part of his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Trump allocated $170 billion to bolster immigration and border enforcement over the next four years, with $75 billion earmarked directly for ICE. No volunteer militia leaders or anti-immigrant extremists were necessary.
Following the bill’s passage, the nonprofit American Immigration Council announced that this “new influx of funds [made] ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history.” The AIC noted that it would bring the administration’s efforts to repurpose the federal government with a primary focus on immigration enforcement closer to fruition.
Seeking to leverage the terror they were instigating within immigrant communities, official accounts from the White House and DHS documented their efforts by sharing videos, memes, and other content—some of which was incomprehensible outside of extremist circles—on official social media platforms.
Richard Mack, who claims to have been in contact with Homan as recently as last fall, has not held any formal role in the deportation initiative. However, local sheriffs and other law enforcement agencies have been co-opted into performing ICE’s duties, including interrogating individuals suspected of being undocumented, demanding proof of citizenship, arresting undocumented immigrants, and detaining them in local jails until ICE agents can arrive to take them.
Shah noted, “They are not only cannibalizing the federal government but are also extending their influence in cities and states nationwide through a radical interpretation of the 287(g) program, which enlists state and local law enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement.”
A year ago, only 125 agencies had enrolled in the 287(g) programs. As of November 25, that number surged to over 1,200. “They are attempting to create miniature ICE offices throughout our communities,” Shah added.
Nonetheless, despite the aggressive measures implemented by the Trump administration, some factions within his base deemed the actions insufficient. Nick Fuentes, a far-right white nationalist influencer who has recently incited divisions within the GOP, criticized the administration’s deportation statistics in October, asserting, “The administration is not serious.”
A report from the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, published in November, echoed this sentiment, claiming the Trump administration was “significantly behind schedule” in achieving its stated aim of surpassing President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1954 deportation program. To address this shortfall, the report recommended adopting a more expansive approach targeting all immigrants by dramatically increasing workplace enforcement or, akin to Eisenhower’s methods, employing a “system of cordoning off an area and sweeping it clean.”
DHS asserted that deportations during Trump’s first year back in office would break records; however, verifying this claim has proved challenging, as the agency ceased publishing monthly deportation statistics. Internal figures obtained by NBC News indicate that ICE deportations fall significantly short of Trump’s forecasts.
In late October, the administration aimed to boost deportations by replacing ICE leadership with CBP agents across the country, marking an unprecedented deployment of agents typically assigned to border patrol duties.
Shah commented, “Border Patrol is an agency characterized by a culture of abuse and unaccountability. For years, it has harmed individuals and even caused fatalities without facing repercussions. They are now extending their culture of abuse and xenophobia deep into American cities, which poses a significant threat to our civil rights.”
At that time, a DHS official explained to NBC, “The mindset is that CBP follows orders, while the administration believes ICE is not meeting expectations. Therefore, CBP will take over.”
Leading this effort is Border Patrol agent Greg Bovino, who has gained infamy for his involvement in some of the most notorious anti-immigrant actions since Trump assumed office, including leading a group of agents on horseback—supported by military personnel—into MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, where children were playing. He has also been involved in deportation operations in Chicago, where he was filmed deploying tear gas into a crowd.
A ruling issued in November, which extended an injunction against the excessive use of force by ICE and Border Patrol agents in Chicago, revealed that US District Court Judge Sara Ellis deemed Bovino’s testimony “not credible,” noting that he “appeared evasive throughout his three days of deposition, providing either ‘clever’ responses to questions from the plaintiffs’ counsel or outright lying.”
Initially, experts expressed concern that collaboration between far-right Constitutional Sheriffs and ICE could lead to potential human rights violations; however, such incidents would likely have been confined to specific counties under those sheriffs’ jurisdictions. In contrast, CBP operates as a federal agency with a mandate to function nationwide.
Gupta pointed out, “Bovino has a notorious history marked by explicit anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions, and Border Patrol has a long-standing record of abuses and a lack of accountability, coupled with no experience in enforcing immigration laws in the interior of the United States. It is unprecedented to have Border Patrol officers conducting arrests in cities such as Charlotte, Chicago, or New York, where communities have deep-rooted connections to this country.”
The extent and frequency of the agency’s operations are escalating, with reports surfacing that CBP has monitored the travel patterns of millions of Americans to identify what it considers suspicious behavior.
Meanwhile, ICE continues to extend its reach, establishing a clandestine deportation network in Texas and contracting bounty hunting firms to track immigrants. As WIRED disclosed earlier this year, operatives from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency are creating a master database at the DHS that could be utilized to surveil undocumented immigrants.
Experts consulted by WIRED pointed to significant protests, such as the No Kings marches, and state lawmakers like Illinois Governor JB Pritzker standing up to ICE as optimistic signs that Trump’s mass deportations might be curtailed or even halted. However, Shah contends that as long as Miller remains in his position, substantial changes are unlikely.
Neither the White House nor Miller responded to requests for comments.
A year ago, experts cautioned about the potential for isolated instances of overreach by extremist sheriffs in immigration enforcement. Today, those concerns have become secondary, given how radically the Trump administration, orchestrated by Miller, has transformed the federal government to fulfill its deportation aspirations.
Shah concluded, “The only thing that could halt this trajectory is if Stephen Miller is no longer in charge. He’s the mastermind, and as long as he holds power, he can continue to manipulate the board. It doesn’t matter if it’s Tom Homan, Kristi Noem, or Corey Lewandowski; they are merely pieces in this game.”
