Hundreds of "illegal immigrant criminals" captured, and hundreds more flown out of the United States by the military

Hundreds of "illegal immigrant criminals" were detained in the United States on Thursday, and hundreds more were flown out of the country on military planes as President Trump's anticipated major deportation operation began, the White House announced.

In a post on X Thursday night, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, "The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals, including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors." Tren de Aragua is a violent gang that originated in Venezuela and has now moved to the United States. It became a flashpoint during the presidential campaign.

According to paperwork given by a senior administration official, the 538 arrests included 373 people with criminal histories and 165 people without criminal records, excluding immigration infractions. According to the data, another 1,041 persons were either removed or returned.

Raids have occurred in major cities like Boston, Denver, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J., according to sources.

President Trump was questioned about the trips after landing in Asheville, North Carolina, where he was assessing the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Helene late last year. He told reporters, "Deportation is going very well. We're getting the bad, hard criminals out." He added, "These are people that have been as bad as you get, as bad as anybody you've seen. We're taking them out first." The Trump administration has not provided any further criminal information on passengers aboard the deportation planes.

There are around 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Many have lived in the country for many years.

On Thursday, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat, stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials "raided a local establishment... detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant."

According to Baraka, one of individuals seized during the operation was a United States military veteran.