U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a series of statements on December 18, 2025, addressing sanctuary city policies, recruitment achievements, and recent operational expansions.
In a message posted at 20:00 UTC, ICE addressed communities with sanctuary policies, stating: "Listen up, agitators in sanctuary cities: The larger ICE presence you see is the direct result of your sanctuary polices.
Your officials RELEASE CRIMINAL ALIENS from jail into the community, so we have to go into the community to find them." This statement reflects ongoing tensions between federal immigration enforcement and local jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE detainers.
An hour later, at 21:05 UTC, ICE highlighted its recruitment efforts: "Our Defend the Homeland recruitment campaign is the MOST SUCCESSFUL federal law enforcement recruitment campaign in American history.
With over 220,000 applications, we hit our goal of hiring more than 10,000 ICE personnel in LESS than a year." The agency attributes this rapid expansion to its new outreach initiatives.
In another post at the same time, ICE credited recent policy changes for increased operational capacity: "Thanks to @POTUS's leadership, his support of law enforcement, and the passage of his One Big Beautiful Bill — @ICEgov was able to expand operations never before seen and ramp up deportations across the country.
Thanks to @POTUS and @Sec_Noem, the Homeland will be defended."
Sanctuary cities are municipalities or jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. These policies have been a point of contention between local governments seeking to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation and federal agencies tasked with enforcing immigration laws. Federal officials have argued that such policies can lead to public safety concerns by allowing individuals who might otherwise be detained by ICE to remain in communities.
The referenced "One Big Beautiful Bill" appears linked to recent legislative efforts supporting expanded funding and resources for federal law enforcement agencies. Presidential support has been cited as instrumental in enabling these changes.
