Trump’s PR blitz is here, though mass deportations have not yet occurred
The media coverage highlights the difficulties the Trump administration encounters as it seeks to swiftly implement its commitment to large-scale deportations.
TroibNews 
President Donald Trump’s promised mass deportation plan, which he campaigned on, has yet to materialize fully — but the White House's public relations efforts suggest otherwise.
The administration has aggressively promoted enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through media channels and social media. White House accounts share images of restrained migrants being boarded onto military aircraft. Raids have been overt and highly publicized, even allowing shows like “Dr. Phil” to film an operation in Chicago.
However, the current rate of daily ICE arrests remains similar to levels seen during President Barack Obama’s tenure. Many detainees lack violent criminal histories, and thousands have been released quietly due to limited detention capacity. Illicit drugs and undocumented immigrants continue to cross the border daily.
This is far from “the largest deportation program in American history,” which Trump pledged to initiate on his first day in office.
“Politically, I understand why they’re doing this,” remarked John Sandweg, who served as acting director of ICE from 2013 to 2014. “But I think it sends messages that are inaccurate about what ICE has historically done — that this is new.”
The administration's extensive media outreach illustrates the challenges it faces in rapidly fulfilling the promise of mass deportations, an ambitious task requiring significant funding, time, and resources. Even in successful execution, targeting individuals without violent criminal records presents political risks.
A White House official countered claims that Trump’s measures are superficial, highlighting his tariff agreements, national emergency declaration, military involvement in border security, and rollback of Biden-era policies — all of which significantly reshaped immigrant treatment in the U.S.
“President Trump campaigned on an unequivocal pledge to end the invasion of migrants and drugs at our borders — a promise he began following up on with one bold action after another within hours of assuming office,” stated White House spokesperson Kush Desai. “After four years of a lackadaisical approach to border security and immigration, every lever of executive power is now being marshaled to enforce our laws, mass deport criminal illegal immigrants, safeguard our borders, and put American citizens first.”
After a decline in deportations during the early years of the Biden administration, numbers surged to a 10-year high in 2024. While Trump has highlighted his increased arrest figures, reports indicate that some of those captured have subsequently been released back into their communities — signaling the constraints the president faces in rapidly expanding his deportation machinery. His administration has also reframed some standard ICE operations as part of his mass deportation initiative, despite the agency's longstanding mission to prioritize individuals who pose public safety threats.
Beyond Trump's pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, the administration's promotion of immigration enforcement serves additional purposes. It signals to his eager base that he is delivering. Trump’s officials aim to communicate to smugglers, cartels, undocumented immigrants in the country, and those contemplating entry that they will not be allowed to stay. For the broader audience, the PR campaign seeks to convey that deportation efforts are focused on criminals — the most politically acceptable targets — even as the large-scale deportation of undocumented immigrants necessitates apprehending many individuals without criminal convictions.
Democrats note familiarity with Trump’s persuasive tactics from the campaign trail, where they faced an overwhelming disparity in immigration advertising expenses, and express concern over its potential effectiveness again.
“These people never stop campaigning, and Trump and his team — look, they’re much savvier, they’re hungrier and unrelenting,” observed Beatriz Lopez, co-executive director of Immigration Hub, a pro-immigrant organization founded during Trump’s first term. “And part of it is doing what Trump does best, which is entertainment and cruelty.”
The president has also seized on graphics and statistics that he claims illustrate his progress, despite some being misleading. A graph he shared on Truth Social last week suggested negative migrant encounters on specific days — an impossibility. The mugshots of arrested migrants presented by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at press briefings echoed the visuals Trump highlighted during his campaign.
Throughout this period, Trump has leveraged the issue for fundraising, with recent emails from his political committees citing alleged crimes committed by newly arrested immigrants.
Despite differing views, there is consensus among Democrats and Republicans on a potential policy advantage: intimidation and deterrence, a strategy all administrations have employed to a lesser degree.
“The deterrence piece of these images is making sure that the cartels know, but that the people who pay the cartels know as well” that there will be “consequences” for illegal actions, explained Chad Wolf, who served as acting secretary of Homeland Security during Trump’s first administration and currently heads homeland security at America First Policy Institute.
Nonetheless, Trump’s PR efforts have escalated, raising concerns among some immigration enforcement veterans about the safety of officers and the potential disruption of ongoing investigations due to the emphasis on publicizing arrests.
As Trump emphasizes deportations of criminals, he will need to broaden his focus to achieve his promised levels of deportations. This requirement has led his administration to pressure ICE agents to augment arrests, irrespective of migrants' criminal records. Actions such as removing temporary legal protections from Venezuelans have expanded the pool of undocumented immigrants eligible for targeting.
“The only way to really increase arrests and detention is to just increase the overall number of people that don’t have criminal records,” noted Austin Kocher, an immigration researcher at Syracuse University.
Polling support for mass deportations varies based on how the issue is framed. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 44 percent of Americans favored deporting all undocumented immigrants, while 39 percent supported deporting only those convicted of violent offenses. Historical polling suggests that Trump’s messaging could face challenges if his deportation initiatives lead to separating families or affect those married to U.S. citizens or with citizen children, or if they involve individuals crucial to the workforce.
Leavitt recently suggested a possible broadening of the administration's definition of criminals beyond just violent offenders and drug smugglers, stating that any migrant who crosses the border illegally should be categorized as a criminal, as the act is illegal.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
The administration has aggressively promoted enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through media channels and social media. White House accounts share images of restrained migrants being boarded onto military aircraft. Raids have been overt and highly publicized, even allowing shows like “Dr. Phil” to film an operation in Chicago.
However, the current rate of daily ICE arrests remains similar to levels seen during President Barack Obama’s tenure. Many detainees lack violent criminal histories, and thousands have been released quietly due to limited detention capacity. Illicit drugs and undocumented immigrants continue to cross the border daily.
This is far from “the largest deportation program in American history,” which Trump pledged to initiate on his first day in office.
“Politically, I understand why they’re doing this,” remarked John Sandweg, who served as acting director of ICE from 2013 to 2014. “But I think it sends messages that are inaccurate about what ICE has historically done — that this is new.”
The administration's extensive media outreach illustrates the challenges it faces in rapidly fulfilling the promise of mass deportations, an ambitious task requiring significant funding, time, and resources. Even in successful execution, targeting individuals without violent criminal records presents political risks.
A White House official countered claims that Trump’s measures are superficial, highlighting his tariff agreements, national emergency declaration, military involvement in border security, and rollback of Biden-era policies — all of which significantly reshaped immigrant treatment in the U.S.
“President Trump campaigned on an unequivocal pledge to end the invasion of migrants and drugs at our borders — a promise he began following up on with one bold action after another within hours of assuming office,” stated White House spokesperson Kush Desai. “After four years of a lackadaisical approach to border security and immigration, every lever of executive power is now being marshaled to enforce our laws, mass deport criminal illegal immigrants, safeguard our borders, and put American citizens first.”
After a decline in deportations during the early years of the Biden administration, numbers surged to a 10-year high in 2024. While Trump has highlighted his increased arrest figures, reports indicate that some of those captured have subsequently been released back into their communities — signaling the constraints the president faces in rapidly expanding his deportation machinery. His administration has also reframed some standard ICE operations as part of his mass deportation initiative, despite the agency's longstanding mission to prioritize individuals who pose public safety threats.
Beyond Trump's pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, the administration's promotion of immigration enforcement serves additional purposes. It signals to his eager base that he is delivering. Trump’s officials aim to communicate to smugglers, cartels, undocumented immigrants in the country, and those contemplating entry that they will not be allowed to stay. For the broader audience, the PR campaign seeks to convey that deportation efforts are focused on criminals — the most politically acceptable targets — even as the large-scale deportation of undocumented immigrants necessitates apprehending many individuals without criminal convictions.
Democrats note familiarity with Trump’s persuasive tactics from the campaign trail, where they faced an overwhelming disparity in immigration advertising expenses, and express concern over its potential effectiveness again.
“These people never stop campaigning, and Trump and his team — look, they’re much savvier, they’re hungrier and unrelenting,” observed Beatriz Lopez, co-executive director of Immigration Hub, a pro-immigrant organization founded during Trump’s first term. “And part of it is doing what Trump does best, which is entertainment and cruelty.”
The president has also seized on graphics and statistics that he claims illustrate his progress, despite some being misleading. A graph he shared on Truth Social last week suggested negative migrant encounters on specific days — an impossibility. The mugshots of arrested migrants presented by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at press briefings echoed the visuals Trump highlighted during his campaign.
Throughout this period, Trump has leveraged the issue for fundraising, with recent emails from his political committees citing alleged crimes committed by newly arrested immigrants.
Despite differing views, there is consensus among Democrats and Republicans on a potential policy advantage: intimidation and deterrence, a strategy all administrations have employed to a lesser degree.
“The deterrence piece of these images is making sure that the cartels know, but that the people who pay the cartels know as well” that there will be “consequences” for illegal actions, explained Chad Wolf, who served as acting secretary of Homeland Security during Trump’s first administration and currently heads homeland security at America First Policy Institute.
Nonetheless, Trump’s PR efforts have escalated, raising concerns among some immigration enforcement veterans about the safety of officers and the potential disruption of ongoing investigations due to the emphasis on publicizing arrests.
As Trump emphasizes deportations of criminals, he will need to broaden his focus to achieve his promised levels of deportations. This requirement has led his administration to pressure ICE agents to augment arrests, irrespective of migrants' criminal records. Actions such as removing temporary legal protections from Venezuelans have expanded the pool of undocumented immigrants eligible for targeting.
“The only way to really increase arrests and detention is to just increase the overall number of people that don’t have criminal records,” noted Austin Kocher, an immigration researcher at Syracuse University.
Polling support for mass deportations varies based on how the issue is framed. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 44 percent of Americans favored deporting all undocumented immigrants, while 39 percent supported deporting only those convicted of violent offenses. Historical polling suggests that Trump’s messaging could face challenges if his deportation initiatives lead to separating families or affect those married to U.S. citizens or with citizen children, or if they involve individuals crucial to the workforce.
Leavitt recently suggested a possible broadening of the administration's definition of criminals beyond just violent offenders and drug smugglers, stating that any migrant who crosses the border illegally should be categorized as a criminal, as the act is illegal.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
