U.S. arrests 35 in highly-publicized immigration raids targeting 2,000

U.S. immigration authorities arrested 35 people during a recent series of highly-publicized, nationwide raids reportedly targeting some 2,000 immigrants, an administration official said Tuesday.

Of those arrested, 18 were members of families with deportation orders and 17 were collateral arrests of people found during enforcement actions, Acting Director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Matthew Albence said during a news teleconference Tuesday morning.

A woman addresses migrants as they wait to apply for asylum in the United States along the border Tuesday, July 16, 2019, in Tijuana, Mexico. [Photo: IC]

Albence declined to specify when and where those arrests occurred, but said they happened "nationwide in various locations" and were part of an accelerated immigration docket in 10 cities across the nation.

Though the acting ICE chief acknowledged the low number, he described the arrests as "just the beginning of the operation."

The raids, revealed by President Donald Trump, were originally scheduled for June but were delayed for weeks until July 14.

Trump, who has been tough on immigration, has sought to deter the influx of undocumented immigrants and address other relevant issues but has drawn criticism for his approaches.