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The effort has been planned as a show of force to deter migration to the southwestern border, but immigration agents and experts have also described the planning and logistics for the operation as flawed.
The effort will focus on more than 2,000 undocumented family members who entered the United States in recent years and had their cases expedited on a specialized docket and were served deportation orders in at least 10 major cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New Orleans.
ICE branches in additional cities were also told to prepare to conduct deportations, according to one of the homeland security officials.
It remained unclear whether families in all of the cities would be detained. According to one federal official, agents in New York have been instructed to go to the homes of families in the country illegally and instruct them to leave the country in 30 days. The families may be fitted with an ankle bracelet for tracking.
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In an interview with ABC News, Mark Morgan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said 2,040 family members would be targeted, without specifying the timing of the operation.
Such operations have been carried out under previous administrations. While people are often detained at home, work or courthouses, the operation Sunday would be a coordinated effort across the country. Morgan is hoping the deportations will quell a record number of Central Americans seeking asylum.
While President Donald Trump said on Twitter this week that ICE would deport millions of immigrants, the agency does not have the resources to carry out a mission of that size.
Some immigration experts doubted the agency would reach the target of 2,000, partly because families most likely fled their homes after Trump’s tweet late Monday night. “They know we’re coming,” said Ronald D. Vitiello, former acting director of ICE.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department said it would not help the federal government with any planned raids.