A massive push by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to round up 2,000 illegal immigrants who have final deportation orders is reportedly off to a slow start, with just 35 arrests.
Some attempted arrests were called off for the safety of the immigration agents, Matthew Albence, the acting head of ICE, said in a conference call with reporters, NJ Advance Media reported.
"We had instances where we had officers who believed they were being surveilled," he said.
The operation will continue, however — though officials did not say for how long.
"We're patient, and we'll continue to pursue these cases," Albence said, per the report.
Publicity might have prompted many of those who had been targeted to temporarily leave their homes, or to move altogether to evade arrest, The New York Times reported. In New York City, immigration advocates urged illegal immigrants to not open their doors to ICE agents who did not have a court order in hand.
ICE declined to say the states or cities where the 35 people were arrested.
Of those detained, 18 were part of family units and 17 were "collateral" arrests — picked up in connection with the operation but not originally targeted, both news outlets reported.
The operation began July 14 and was focused on large cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco.
New Orleans was taken off the list because Tropical Storm Barry had hit the area that weekend, NJ Advance Media reported.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio's office said there were three unsuccessful attempts by ICE to detain individuals in Manhattan and Brooklyn during the first weekend of the operation.
Albence said he was not aware of any arrested families in which children were separated from their parents while in ICE custody.
There are about one million immigrants living in the United States with final deportation orders that have not been enforced, ICE officials said.
According to the Times, in fiscal year 2018, the Trump administration deported 256,086 immigrants, an increase of 13% over the previous year. President Barack Obama removed 409,849 people in 2012, an all-time high, and 235,413 in fiscal year 2015.
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