Overview
- Sen. Jim Justice told Politico that the administration should admit mistakes in immigration enforcement and consider stepping back from large deportation sweeps.
- Justice warned that aggressive ICE actions have removed people who have lived in communities for years and said officers can get "carried away" in their jobs.
- His comments follow complaints from ranchers and agricultural groups that ICE operations in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma are raising costs and disrupting cattle supply chains.
- Reporting over the weekend said ICE was briefly told to stop arrests of non‑criminal immigrants before the administration called that a "miscommunication" and reversed course, highlighting coordination problems inside enforcement operations.
- Observers note Justice’s seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, his business ties to farming, and reports he is weighing a primary challenge to Gov. Patrick Morrisey as factors that make his break with the White House politically significant.