TO CLOSE

The photos were taken in federal detention centers in the Rio Grande Valley in the week of June 10, according to a report by the Inspector General.
DHS via Storyful

US immigration and customs officials will begin this weekend a large gathering of undocumented immigrants in at least 10 major cities, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The Times, quoting two current officials and a former Homeland Security official that he did not name, announced that the raids would begin Sunday and target over 2,000 immigrants who are being targeted. 39 eviction orders and staying illegally in the country. The sources told the Times that ICE had planned to keep family members together in the family's detention centers, to the extent possible.

The report is not surprising: less than a week ago, President Donald Trump had promised that massive deportation roundups would begin soon.

"They will start soon, but I do not call them raids, we send people back, all those people who have come illegally over the years," Trump said Friday.

Trump said two weeks ago that he would delay two weeks of raids across the country to give Congress time to develop an immigration plan. Trump's hard line on immigration has been a recurring theme in his presidency and should occupy a central place in his bid for the re-election of 2020.

REPORT – In this photo of April 3, 2019, a couple who did not want to give his name kiss outside the CVE group while a bus from LaSalle Corrections Transport leaves the premises of Allen, Texas. Immigrant families and their advocates warn of the planned arrests throughout the country by the Immigration and Customs Control Agency. (Photo: Smiley N. Pool, AP)

ICE spokesman Matthew Bourke, in a statement sent Thursday to the United States to USA TODAY, will neither confirm nor deny the raid plan.

"Due to the sensitivity of the security forces and the security of Immigration and US Customs personnel, the agency will not offer specific details regarding control operations, "said Mr. Bourke.

ICE has always maintained that it is primarily aimed at people with criminal records, but that anyone illegally recognized in the United States would face a custodial sentence.

"Ninety percent of foreigners arrested by the ICE Enforcement and Disposal Operations component during the 2018 fiscal year had either a criminal conviction or a criminal charge. pending, either a fugitive from the ICE, or illegally reinstated in the country after their removal, "said Bourke.

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