Washington DC [US], February 27 (ANI): More than 20,000 undocumented immigrants were arrested during Donald Trump's first month as President, CNN reported, quoting the Department of Homeland Security.

The Trump administration launched an immigration crackdown in the moments after his inauguration and publicised daily arrest totals during his first couple of weeks in office, as per CNN.

The pace of at-large arrests -- meaning those done in the community -- exceeded the Biden administration. In the last fiscal year, under Biden, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted around 33,000 at-large arrests, CNN reported.

'President Trump and this Administration are saving lives every day because of the actions we are taking to secure the border and deport illegal alien criminals. Hundreds of thousands of criminals were let into this country illegally. We are sending them home, and they will never be allowed to return,' DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Wednesday.

https://x.com/Sec_Noem/status/1894837641167655107

Senior Trump officials have expressed frustration with the pace of arrests, resulting in the removal of the acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello on February 22.

Despite denying publicly that he's unhappy with the levels of deportations, President Donald Trump, who selected Vitello to fill the post, has complained privately about it to his top immigration aides, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Vitello, a career government official, is expected to be reassigned.

'The Acting Director of ICE is not being fired -- he is no longer in an Administrative role, but is overseeing all field and enforcement operations: finding, arresting, and deporting illegal aliens, which is a major priority of the President and Secretary,' said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.

Earlier in the day, during his first Cabinet meeting, Trump said that his administration set a record on least number of illegal migrants entering the country in the last 50 years.

'We also having tremendous support from border patrol, from ICE agents- [they] have been unbelievable border patrol. Their leadership at border patrol has been incredible, and they're working very well. Actually, we set records on the least number of illegal aliens and migrants coming into our country that we had that we've had in more than 50 years, and we did this all within a period of weeks because we took over a mess,' he said.

Trump recounted how the world was pouring inside the US, and how the US border czars prevented them.

'The world was pouring in and remember -- they were coming in from jails and prisons and mental institutions and insane asylums and there were gang members and drug dealers. Anybody wanted to come, in they could and from not just South America -- from all over the world. So it's amazing what they've done, and Kristi Noem and Tom Homan -- the job they've done has been absolutely amazing. We want people to come into our country by the way, but they have to come in legally,' he said. (ANI)