ICE begins 'enhanced targeted operations' in Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it conducted "enhanced targeted operations" in Austin Sunday, according to an agency spokesperson.

“[ICE], along with federal partners including the DEA and ATF began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Austin to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities," said Monica Yoas, ICE Southwest Region's acting media operations unit chief.

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Houston spokesperson also confirmed that the agency assisted ICE and other federal law enforcement partners with enhanced targeted operations in Austin Sunday.

"The DEA Houston division assisted the Department of Homeland Security with their targeted enforcement operations today," said Sally Sparks, DEA spokesperson, in a phone call with KXAN.

ICE officials reported other enhanced targeted operations in cities across Texas and nationwide. In addition to Austin, KXAN has confirmed ICE operations took place in and around San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Buffalo and Atlanta on Sunday.

A spokesperson for Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said that his office wasn't notified by the White House prior to the operations. In a statement, Doggett said that while he supports secure borders and removing criminal offenders, he opposes the removal of law abiding residents.

“Dragnets designed to remove law abiding, tax paying residents, many of whom have been here for years and are parents of American citizen children, do not make us safer; they only make our economy weaker, as much needed construction workers, health aides, and other workers are detained," he said. "Authorizing armed federal immigration agents to enter churches, schools, and hospitals will only create chaos. Like his previous policy deliberately taking children from their mothers, Trump is making cruelty his principal immigration policy.”

KXAN has reached out to Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz for their comments on the operation.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers (ERO's) focus on the identification, arrests, detention and removal of individuals unlawfully present in the US, according to ICE. In an article on enforcement and removal operations, ICE said its EROs work with other law enforcement agencies and use "targeted, intelligence-driven tactics" during enforcement.

According to ICE's data, there were 25,951 "removals" in the ICE San Antonio office's area during 2024.