Spin Cycle: ICE Agents On The Streets, Troops At The Border, Illegals On Planes

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.

After a whirlwind first week back in office, President Donald Trump has already made good on several campaign promises — many of them related to illegal immigration and how to handle the millions of illegals who entered the United States under the watch of former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The media spin on Sunday appeared to be aimed at diluting the overwhelming support from the public for Trump’s tougher stance on illegal immigration and even mass deportations, as legacy media hosts focused Sunday on the few key points that they thought could be used to push public opinion in the opposite direction.

On ABC News’ “This Week,” host Martha Raddatz keyed in on Trump’s decision to send troops to the southern border in order to help maintain control.

“The Trump administration warns this is only the beginning of their border crackdown and thousands more troops could be flooding in soon.”@MattRiversABC has the latest as Pres. Trump directs U.S. troops and military assets to the southern border. https://t.co/TDqjtzjssz pic.twitter.com/TuyIwq28Fy

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 26, 2025

Raddatz also brought in Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) to discuss the Trump administration opening the doors for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to target illegals in courthouses, schools, and churches.

“If the focus and the priority is on criminals, I’m not sure going after an 11-year-old is where you start,” Slotkin said, pushing the Democrat narrative that Trump was targeting children and families for deportation despite reassurances from Border Czar Tom Homan that the initial targets would be those who had committed additional crimes.

“If the focus and the priority is on criminals, I'm not sure going after an 11-year-old is where you start,” Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin tells @MarthaRaddatz after Pres. Trump authorizes ICE to target courthouses, schools and churches. https://t.co/NSpUBvJWhT pic.twitter.com/VA49nLrWF6

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 26, 2025

Slotkin was also critical of Trump’s move to send troops to the border, complaining that it was likely to blur the line between the military being used for “logistics and support” rather than as “law enforcement.”

Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin warns that Pres. Trump’s use of the U.S. military at the southern border is “coming right up to that line of logistics and support — and law enforcement.”

“Our military are not trained as law enforcement officers.” https://t.co/3MrbOIRjUw pic.twitter.com/pGBfVSNfBx

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 26, 2025

Homan also spoke with Raddatz about deportation operations thus far, saying that military aircraft were being used for logistics in that regard: “It’s sending a strong signal to the world, our border is closed.”

Pres. Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan told @MarthaRaddatz the U.S. is planning to use military aircraft every day to help carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

“It’s sending a strong signal to the world — our border is closed.” https://t.co/rIvHom0mTy pic.twitter.com/6au7Xxkv2N

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 26, 2025

On CBS News, “Face the Nation” guest Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) complained about President Trump’s move to designate foreign cartels and trafficking organizations as terror groups, claiming that “does nothing to advance the cause of comprehensive immigration reform.”

“Anybody knows that our system is badly broken and Donald Trump is not making the moves to fix it,” he told host Margaret Brennan.

When asked about President Trump's executive order designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) says Trump's rhetoric "does nothing to advance the cause of comprehensive immigration reform."

"Anybody knows that our system is badly broken and… pic.twitter.com/rgXtxk1BQ3

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 26, 2025

Brennan also spoke with Vice President JD Vance on Sunday, and pressed him to defend the administration’s decision to allow ICE agents to conduct raids at churches and schools. She argued that such a policy could have “a chilling effect” on parents who wanted their children to attend school or church services.

Vance turned her assertion on its head, saying, “I desperately hope it has a chilling effect on illegal immigrants coming into our country.”

When asked if President Trump's move enabling immigration agents to conduct raids in a church or school would have “a chilling effect” on parents who may be hesitant to send their children to school, Vance tells @margbrennan, "I desperately hope it has a chilling effect on… pic.twitter.com/RI0zC3bTyT

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 26, 2025

Brennan also pointed out that a number of religious leaders had been critical of the Trump administration’s immigration policies — among them Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who used an inaugural prayer service to scold Trump on the topic.

Vance said that he was “heartbroken” to see the response of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in particular, arguing that their motives might not be rooted in morality.

“The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” he asked.

Vice President JD Vance says he's "heartbroken" by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemning some of President Trump's executive orders relating to immigration.

"The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that… pic.twitter.com/VN2mXNbmsa

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 26, 2025

Brennan pressed Vance on Trump’s call for the end of birthright citizenship as well, and he pushed back on the judge who had blocked his order doing just that.

“I obviously disagree with that judge,” Vance said. “Just because we were founded by immigrants, doesn’t mean that 240 years later, that we have to have the dumbest immigration policy in the world.”

“I obviously disagree with that judge,” Vice President JD Vance says of a federal judge, who this week blocked on constitutional grounds, President Trump’s order attempting to eliminate birthright citizenship.

"Just because we were founded by immigrants, doesn't mean that 240… pic.twitter.com/rrO9QfsDSa

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 26, 2025

On “State of the Union,” CNN anchor Dana Bash spoke with Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) about the Trump administration’s deportation push, and he said his main concern was that the ICE agents involved would not “follow the law.”

Pritzker, who has declared his own state a sanctuary jurisdiction in defiance of federal immigration law, claimed that Illinois would “follow the law” even if federal agents did not.

“We’re going to follow the law in Illinois… We expect them to do the same,” he said, adding, “I’m very afraid that they will not follow the law.”

“We're going to follow the law in Illinois… We expect them to do the same.”

Illinois @GovPritzker reacts to the Trump administration’s planned immigration raids in Chicago, telling @DanaBashCNN, “I'm very afraid that they will not follow the law.” pic.twitter.com/EURmOQ3MHP

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) January 26, 2025

In the first few days of raids across the United States, Homan confirmed to New Nation host Chris Cuomo that some 1300 illegals had been apprehended — and of those, more than 1000 had committed additional crimes beyond simply entering the United States illegally.

“What I can tell you right now, Chris, is we’ve arrested 1300 people, over a thousand of them are criminals. Who are the other ones? They’re either fugitives who’ve been through immigration court, have been ordered to be removed but didn’t, became a fugitive, or collaterals,” Homan said. “Look, I said from day one, no one’s off the table. If you’re in the United States illegally, you’ve got a problem. But we are concentrating on public safety threats first. That just makes sense.”