Overview
- Saturday reporting from The Daily Wire said ICE officers nationwide were told to stop arresting immigrants without criminal convictions and to end so-called collateral arrests.
- The Department of Homeland Security issued a public denial saying, “This is false. No one is off the table,” and that ICE will continue broad immigration arrests and deportations.
- Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin and multiple ICE/DHS sources say the verbal message did go out, was labeled an erroneous miscommunication, and was later reversed with new field guidance reaffirming existing policy.
- Officials and agents remain unclear whether any formal written directive was ever issued, and the episode followed an ICE shooting in Austin and internal reminders about body cameras that have already raised operational concerns.
- The confusion could reduce morale, complicate enforcement in the field, and intensify political and oversight pressure on ICE as arrest numbers and use-of-force incidents draw increased scrutiny.