U.S. immigration officials this week arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants across the country, Reuters reported Friday.
The arrests were made in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, New York and nearby areas.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement did not say how many were arrested in total, but 161 arrests were made in Los Angeles and 200 were made in Atlanta.
{mosads}David Marin, a director in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Los Angeles field office, said the arrests, which were made over the course of five days, were an “enforcement surge.”
“The rash of these recent reports about ICE checkpoints and random sweeps, that’s all false and that’s dangerous and irresponsible,” he said. “Reports like that create a panic.”
President Trump last month signed an executive order on immigration enforcement, which ended the previous “catch and release” policy that allowed those who crossed the border to return to Mexico without being detained.
A Los Angeles Times analysis found that 8 million undocumented workers in the U.S. may be at risk for deportation under the new order.