Trump Allies Push for Workplace Raids to Hit Mass Deportation Targets

The Trump administration is facing pressure from its own base to dramatically expand immigration enforcement, with hard-line allies calling for workplace raids and a shift away from targeting only immigrants with criminal records.

The Mass Deportation Coalition -- a network of conservative groups including the Heritage Foundation, the architects of Project 2025 -- published recommendations last week urging the White House to pursue "populations that are easier to remove," such as immigrants with final deportation orders and visa overstays. Translation: go after workers, not just people with criminal convictions.

Border czar Tom Homan signaled the administration is listening. "You're going to see more worksite enforcement operations coming," he told Fox News after the coalition's plan went public.

The Push for Bigger Numbers

Mark Morgan, a former Border Patrol chief under Obama who later ran ICE and CBP during Trump's first term, is now a key voice in the coalition. He says the administration shouldn't back down despite growing public backlash to aggressive enforcement tactics.

"Everyone that's here illegally should be removed," Morgan told reporters. The coalition's stated goal: at least 1 million deportations this year.

That target matters because formal removals so far appear to number only in the hundreds of thousands, according to available data. The administration withholds key statistics, which is itself one of the coalition's complaints. They're demanding full transparency on enforcement numbers.

Morgan argues that expanded workplace enforcement will not only boost deportation numbers but also encourage "self-deportations" -- people leaving out of fear -- and deter future illegal entries. He insists the coalition doesn't support "random patrols in sanctuary cities" or "walking the parking lots of Home Depot or Target," but says enforcement must expand in other ways to meet Trump's campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

Cracks in the Base

The problem for the White House: aggressive interior enforcement has already caused fractures in the Republican coalition.

The Oklahoma governor publicly questioned the president's "endgame" on immigration. Florida sheriffs raised concerns about the scope of arrests. Public outcry erupted after Department of Homeland Security officers killed two U.S. citizens during operations in Minneapolis.

Last year's federal raids at farms, factories, and other worksites shook red and blue states alike. Arrests at a Hyundai plant in Georgia caused a diplomatic incident with South Korea. Trump himself acknowledged the economic toll in a June social media post, noting that "our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away" from the farming and hospitality sectors.

With midterm elections approaching, the White House has reportedly asked Republican lawmakers to de-emphasize mass deportations in their messaging. An analysis by Politico found a similar retreat in official social media accounts.

But the Mass Deportation Coalition says that's exactly the wrong move. They argue the administration won't achieve its deportation goals without pursuing a much larger pool of targets beyond immigrants with criminal records.

What the Law Actually Says

Immigrant advocates say the debate misses a fundamental point: DHS is already violating existing legal standards.

According to advocates, the government has violated over 300 court orders related to immigrant detention this year alone. The administration has also ended legal status for immigrants lawfully living in the United States, raising questions about whether "enforcement" has become a euphemism for something broader.

Morgan's response: "If Congress doesn't want the executive branch to enforce the laws that they passed, then Congress should change them."

That framing ignores the fact that immigration law includes due process protections, asylum provisions, and limits on enforcement tactics -- provisions the administration has been accused of systematically ignoring.

The Political Calculation

The White House now faces competing pressures. Hard-liners want more aggressive enforcement and higher deportation numbers. But polling shows Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with high-profile immigration arrest tactics, especially when they result in workplace raids that disrupt entire communities and industries.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson insisted in a statement that "no one is changing the administration's immigration enforcement agenda" and that "President Trump's highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities."

That statement directly contradicts what the Mass Deportation Coalition is calling for: expanding enforcement beyond people with criminal records to include anyone in the country without authorization.

The coalition's plan represents a fundamental shift in stated policy -- from deporting the "worst of the worst" to deporting anyone who can be easily removed, regardless of their ties to American communities or their criminal history.

Research consistently shows that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans, undercutting the public safety rationale the administration uses to justify its enforcement priorities. But the Mass Deportation Coalition isn't interested in that research. They want numbers.

With Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin now confirmed, the coalition sees an opportunity for a "reset" that prioritizes deportation volume over targeting specific threats. Whether the administration follows through -- and whether the Republican base will tolerate the economic and social disruption that comes with mass workplace raids -- remains to be seen.

What's clear is that the hard-liners aren't backing down, and they're betting that Trump will choose his base over his political advisers warning about midterm blowback.