DHS announces nationwide surge in ‘sanctuary’ cities

( NewsNation ) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ramping up its presence in “ sanctuary cities ,” which are known to limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

In a statement posted Saturday on X, DHS said ICE has initiated a “surge in sanctuary cities,” as part of the Trump administration’s continuous crackdown on immigration .

The states and jurisdictions identified by DHS include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

The statement comes a couple of days after federal officials shot a Venezuelan man in his car while he was delivering food for DoorDash in Austin, Texas.

Wilber Rafael Garcas Perez was admitted to a hospital but has been under ICE’s custody with a bullet still lodged in his back.

Federal immigration agents have shot at least 20 people since Republican President Donald Trump returned to office, seven of them fatally.

The shootings have sparked protests across the country.

Critics contend that Trump’s push to ramp up deportations has led to an increasing number of violent confrontations, and accuse the administration of resisting accountability for the agents involved.

With the surge in ICE presence across the U.S., DHS officials said that they “will continue to arrest any and all illegal aliens that come into our path,” and claimed that they are targeting “criminal illegal aliens” who have been “released from jails by sanctuary politicians.”

Trump has committed to deporting “the worst of the worst,” but the vast majority of people arrested were non-criminal or had minor offenses.

Last week, a U.S. citizen was left bloodied and injured on the side of the road in a Chicago suburb after a confrontation with immigration enforcement agents who mistook him for a fugitive, according to local police and a resident who tried to help the man.

DHS called its recent plan to increase ICE presence in cities a “nationwide public safety surge.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.