Following Tuesday’s results, Vice-President JD Vance had appeared receptive to adjusting their immigration strategy.
“I’m open to the idea that we should change enforcement – by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour, for instance,” Vance wrote in a lengthy online post reflecting on the results.
But the White House’s posture appears to have hardened after Trump promoted Stephen Miller on Friday to become his new chief of staff.
Miller is widely seen as the architect of the administration’s hardline immigration policy during the first and second Trump presidencies.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources told CBS that in recent weeks officials have been instructed to aim for about 2,700 arrests of illegal immigrants per day, an increase from an earlier 2,000 daily arrest target.
Enforcement sweeps this year spurred anti-ICE demonstrations in cities including Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
In Minneapolis, two US protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by immigration agents.
