ATLANTA — Federal law enforcement agencies have started to make arrests across metro Atlanta to enforce U.S. immigration law, authorities confirm. 

The DEA Atlanta said on social media that it participated with other federal law enforcement partners in their immigration enforcement efforts in Atlanta, Cartersville and Savannah. 

The Homeland Security Investigations field office for Atlanta also took to social media and said it was working with its partners to “find and arrest criminal aliens that threaten our communities.” Another post by the agency showed a person in handcuffs at the airport tarmac. 

According to The Associated Press, the arrests have started in other areas of the country. For instance, the AP reported that top officials for President Donald Trump’s administration, including the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts. 

ICE also posted on social media Sunday afternoon that it began conducting “enhanced targeted operations” in Chicago. 

ICE provided an update on its single-day statistics at 7:58 p.m. on X and wrote that across the United States on Sunday, there were 956 arrests and 554 detainers lodged. 

These actions come after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, which has been marked by immigration-related executive orders and the passage of the Laken Riley Act. The measures have ignited intense debates over their legality, implementation and impact on immigrant communities and the broader American society. 

President Trump’s recent immigration orders revisit contentious policies from his first term while introducing new measures that could dramatically alter the nation’s immigration landscape. Among them is the reinstatement of the Remain in Mexico policy, requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are processed. This policy, while touted as a way to reduce illegal border crossings, has faced legal challenges and criticism for exposing migrants to dangerous conditions.

The Laken Riley Act aims to crack down on nonviolent crimes committed by undocumented individuals. The legislation mandates detention for people charged with offenses like theft or burglary and expands the authority of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers on such individuals. States are also granted the ability to sue federal officials for alleged failures in immigration enforcement.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has supported the Laken Riley Act and blamed the Biden Administration for previous cases of undocumented immigrants committing crimes in the U.S. 

“Laken Riley is a young woman who should be living her American Dream and she had the right to do it,” Greene said. “But people that come across our border illegally are not Americans and do not have rights here. Any time they break a law or cross into our country, they should be rounded up and shipped out as fast as possible. And if we need to build more prisons, we’ll do it.”

However, these different measures have prompted concerns. Gigi Pedraza, Executive Director of the Latino Community Fund, expressed concern to 11Alive earlier this week over the chilling effect such measures could have on immigrant families.

“Parents fearing going to medical appointments…it affects us all, not just immigrants,” Pedraza noted, emphasizing the law’s potential to sow fear and disrupt communities. “This is an attack on all immigration, including legal immigration. People just think this is a talking point, a political thing. We’re talking about people’s lives.”

Jerry Gonzalez, CEO of GALEO, also talked with 11Alive’s Joe Ripley earlier this week about the crackdown on immigration. Gonzalez said the policies have heightened anxiety among immigrant communities. 

“There’s a lot of fear,” Gonzalez acknowledged. “We can’t afford to have these draconian type of policies in place. We need something to move us forward, and that’s not something that will move us forward. But we’ve faced four years of Trump before. Many of our community members are still here, thriving and resilient. We’ll continue to move forward.”

11Alive contacted ICE for a statement regarding arrests in metro Atlanta and is awaiting a response. We will provide an update once we receive one.