Democrat-run cities across the country are on high-alert after President Donald Trump directed multiple law enforcement agencies to carry out the largest Mass Deportation Operation in US history.

In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in Americas largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside, Trump said in a Truth Social post Sunday.

Since the start of Trumps second term, his administration has zeroed in on so-called sanctuary cities like New York, L.A., Chicago, and Boston. While there is no legal or strict definition for sanctuary cities, the term denotes a jurisdiction where cooperation with federal immigration enforcement is limited.

In New York City, where more than 400,00 undocumented migrants live, immigrant communities are bracing for ramped-up mass deportation raids.

Since this administration took office, we saw ICE and immigration enforcement ramp up across the state of New York, Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition, told Scripps News Group.

We initially saw them start targeting farms in our upstate communities. Dairy workers were taken. Hatchery workers were taken. And then we saw them also start separating families and taking mothers with their children, he continued. And now what we're seeing in the immigration courts, where people are showing up, following the process, doing what's asked of them. Showing up to court, showing up for ice check-in, and then being snatched and disappeared, simply for following the process.

Awawdeh added that regardless of status, all immigrants are being targeted in these ramp-up enforcement operations, especially as previous pathways to legal status have been removed by the Trump administration.

"We want our communities to be safe and secure. And what we're seeing happen from the federal administration is quite the opposite of that. They're tearing families apart and making our communities less safe," Awawdeh said.

As enforcement agents have been ordered to drastically increase daily arrests, community leaders say they are tracking some operations. Still, there is no clear way of knowing exactly when or where mass raids could take place.

But what we do know is we have certain rights. We do know that planning is important. We do know we can activate as neighbors, that we can extend compassion, and we should be informed, New York City Councilmember Alexa Aviles told Scripps News Group. We also know that our voices are important. And if you haven't been impacted yet, you certainly will be.

RELATED STORY | Trump directs ICE to expand deportations in Democratic-run cities

Councilmember Aviles, who represents some of the most diverse immigrant neighborhoods in the city, said the threat of these raids is greatly impacting already vulnerable communities.

We see decreases in people getting services from nonprofits. We see decreases in people attending school. People are afraid to go to church. Most recently I've heard a lot of decreases in people going to the hospital to get medical care. It really has had a huge negative impact, she said.

Aviles said that businesses are also being impacted as workers are afraid to show up. White House border czar Tom Homan doubled down on immigration raids continuing to be carried out at worksites like farms and hotels.This announcement came after agents were recently told to hold off on conducting raids at these places. Homan said that criminals will be prioritized.

"Trump has been very clear about his interest in terrorizing and harming people who do not want to follow his agenda. And so that means New York City is one of those cities, Aviles said.

Community leaders and immigrant advocates say they have continuously focused on educating people on their rights. Some communities have set up ice trackers and watch groups in attempts to stay ahead of trumps immigration crackdown raids. While these steps aren't erasing a deep sense of dread and widespread chaos for many communities, Aviles said strategies like these send a clear message.

Number one: reminding people that we are a sanctuary city, she said. And reminding folks as that we are not colluding with Trump, and we will not collude with Trump's deportation agenda.

Fresh from the G-7 summit, where allied democracies meet to discuss global economic policies, global polling shows an increasing number of people in U.S. allied countries have low confidence in President Trump and his administration.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, more than half of people in key U.S. allied countries have no confidence in President Trump's leadership in world affairs. This includes close allies like France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan, all of which have at least a 60% "no-confidence" level.

"This whole survey is really in some ways about the United States' soft power and where we stand in terms of being able to persuade countries to do the things that we want them to do," explained David Jackson, Professor of Political Science at Bowling Green State University. "So that's why it's relevant."

Canada, Mexico, and Sweden have especially high "no confidence" opinions of the U.S. leadership. And when it comes to economic power, China now outranks the U.S. in the perceptions of survey respondents, compared to 2023.

"The statistics are one thing. We know who the biggest economy is. It's the United States. But in terms of where the future is, there's real competition between the two countries," said Jackson.

Most people surveyed also described President Trump as "arrogant" and "dangerous." However, Jackson noted that "even among people who don't like what Trump is doing and don't like his personality, still perceive of him as being a strong leader. So that's definitely for President Trump, you know, a silver lining in what are generally pretty negative findings."

RELATED STORY | Global skepticism of President Trump's leadership fuels decline in US reputation, survey says

The findings of the global survey mirror President Trump's first term, when a previous Pew Research survey found international confidence in the U.S. plunged.

"Even the most isolationist person has to acknowledge that the United States physically cannot separate itself from the world. The oceans aren't as effective as they used to be keeping us away from what goes on in the rest of the planet that we share," Jackson said.

The declining international perception of the U.S. and its leadership could have significant implications for the country's global influence and ability to achieve its foreign policy goals.

But perceptions, like administrations, change.

This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

New York lawmakers Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman said Wednesday they were blocked from conducting an oversight visit to inspect detention facilities at a Manhattan immigration court.

We just went in to conduct our constitutional oversight authority of ICE and ICE detention facilities. We were denied access, Rep. Goldman (NY-10) said at a brief press conference after the attempted visit.

The visit to 26 Federal Plaza, where New York ICE field office is located, came a day after New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents Tuesday as he was trying to escort a man out of a courtroom.

Even though we are allowed to show up unannounced by statute and we must be allowed in, we gave advance notice that we would be coming this morning, and they still denied our access, Goldman said.

Earlier this month, two other New York lawmakers, Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Adriano Espaillat, attempted to inspect ICE holding facilities at 26 Federal Plaza and were barred.

RELATED STORY | Brad Lander, NYC comptroller and mayoral candidate, is arrested outside immigration court

Goldman and Nadler (NY-12) said they were very concerned about what conditions these immigrants are being held in while this mass deportation scheme is under way, referring to President Donald Trumps recent directive to federal immigration officials to prioritize deportations in Democratic-run cities.

A representative from ICE has not yet responded to Scripps News request for comment regarding the block inspection.

According to a local news site, ICE Deputy Field Director Bill Joyce told the representatives that some immigrants slept overnight on floors and benches at the facilities. But Joyce said the site was not a detention center, which U.S. House representatives are legally allowed to inspect, but rather an off-limits processing center.

Immigration advocates told Scripps News that immigrants, regardless of their legal status, are being targeted by ramped-up enforcement operations.

They are coming after all immigrants. Those who have status, those in the process of getting status, and those who don't have status because there is no pathway for them in this moment, said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO at the New York Immigration Coalition.