President Donald Trump seemed to signal a major change in his approach to federal immigration raids during an interview with NBC News that aired on Wednesday.
When looking at the next cities to send federal immigration agents, Trump said he’s not going to take the approach of thrusting ICE on areas that don’t want officers there.
“I say they have to ask, and they have to say please,” Trump told NBC News’ Tom Llamas, referring to mayors and governors.
“I don’t wanna go and force ourselves into a city, even if their numbers are terrible. Like, for instance, I got a call from Jeff Landry, governor of Louisiana. He said, ‘We have a big problem. Could you go in and help us with,'” Trump said.
There are five new cities Trump has set his sights on for the next immigration raids, he said while declining to disclose the locations.
“We have five cities that we’re looking at very strongly, but we want to be invited,” he said.
“We’ll be announcing them very quickly. But— we could do something. As an example, I was called by people. San Francisco said, ‘Please, we have a Democrat mayor. He’s trying very hard. Would you’— friends of mine that live there. It’s got crime problems. ‘Would you let him do the job and not come in? Let’s see how it works.’ I said, ‘Look, I can do it much quicker, much faster.’ Don’t forget, we remove criminals. We took over 2,000 hard-core criminals out of Washington, D.C.,” he added.
The White House has since come out to clarify that the president’s statements had “nothing to do with mass deportations” and were in reference to general crime crackdowns involving National Guard.
“Total Fake News BS. President Trump is talking about National Guard deployments for crime reduction — like the highly successful operations in New Orleans, Memphis, D.C., etc., that were welcomed by their leaders,” the White House said on X Thursday.
Llamas had asked him: “So I wanna be clear ‘cause it sounds like there is a shift in immigration enforcement here, that there’s gonna be a shift after Minneapolis. What should Americans expect going forward?”
.@POTUS on helping cities remove criminals: “Well, one thing I say to my people… I say, ‘They have to ask, and they have to say please.'”
NBC: “Who has to ask, and who has to say please?” @POTUS: “The mayor or the governor.” pic.twitter.com/E7blNlEDJi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 4, 2026
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has focused its immigration efforts recently on Minneapolis following the fatal shootings of two anti-ICE activists.
Political leaders in Minnesota have demanded that federal immigration authorities leave the state.
Trump recently sent border czar Tom Homan to the Twin Cities to take command of immigration raids there. Homan announced Wednesday that he brokered an “unprecedented” deal with local sheriffs, who have agreed to allow ICE into their jails to take custody of illegal immigrant inmates before they’re set to be released.
In exchange, Homan said there would be a “drawdown” of 700 federal immigration agents who would “immediately” leave Minneapolis.
The decision to send Homan to Minneapolis signaled a change in Trump’s approach to immigration raids. Homan replaced Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was known for his aggressive tactics, has since returned to his post leading agents in the El Centro sector of the California border.
During his interview with NBC News, Trump acknowledged that his immigration enforcement efforts could use a “softer touch” following the recent deadly shootings.
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