President Donald Trump on Saturday said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids will continue. He made the announcement from the G20 Summit in Japan, while discussing immigration.
“We will be removing large numbers of people … starting in a week after, you know, sometime after July 4th,” Trump said.
On Friday night, a California judge struck down President Trump's national emergency declaration that was used for him to reallocate military funds to build the border wall.
"We're immediately appealing it and we think we'll win the appeal," Trump said at a press conference. "There was no reason that that should have happened.”
Last weekend, ICE had raids scheduled in 10 cities across the nation. Trump cancelled them at the last minute to give Democrats an opportunity to pass a border bill. He made the announcement on Twitter:
At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019
Although Trump is grateful the House passed a bipartisan border bill, he said it's highly unlikely for ICE raids to stop, Fox News reported.
The announcement comes after a heated debate about the conditions of detention facilities along the southern border. Border Patrol has been accused of withholding toothbrushes, shampoo and other basic necessities from detainees.
Border Patrol apprehensions are at an all-time high. In May 2019, Border Patrol apprehended 84,542 family units, compared to 23,116 family units in October.