FBI, ICE arrest 21 people during operation in metro Atlanta
(FBI Atlanta)
ATLANTA - The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have taken 21 people into custody after an operation in metro Atlanta on Monday.
The arrests are the latest in a continued effort by the agencies in the metro area to crack down on illegal immigration.
What we know:
On Monday, the FBI's Atlanta division shared photos showing multiple arrests around the area.
The photos show FBI agents as well as agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The FBI also tagged the ICE field office in Atlanta.
Special agents say they recovered a handgun during the operation.
SEE MORE:
- Georgia community leaders push back on new ICE crackdown
- What to do if ICE comes knocking: Metro Atlanta officials give advice
- Metro Atlanta school districts address ICE policy changes on arrests
- ICE arrests begin in metro Atlanta, spokesperson says
What we don't know:
The agency has not released details about the operation or identifying information about the 21 people taken into custody.
It is not known where the arrests took place around metro Atlanta at this time.
Dig deeper:
Ahead of both of his terms, President Donald Trump has consistently campaigned on the promise to crack down on illegal immigration in the U.S.
On Inauguration Day, a number of his executive orders were geared toward beefing up security at the southern border.
Community leaders push back on ICE raids
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers can now enter houses of worship to arrest undocumented immigrants. The new trump administration policy is striking fear in some Latino and Hispanic communities. A group of community leaders met to weigh in on how to push back on that policy.
In late January, authorities announced that they were beginning to conduct "enhanced targeted operations" around Atlanta and other Georgia cities.
By the numbers:
The Trump administration has released limited information about how many people in the country illegally have been arrested.
From Jan. 23 to Jan. 31, officials shared data on X daily, then stopped publishing information. The agency’s data dashboard has more information, but those quarterly figures are only current as of September 2024.
During the seven-day period when ICE released daily data, the daily average was 787 arrests, compared with 311 during a 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
The Source: Information for this story came from a post on X by the FBI's Atlanta field office, previous FOX 5 reporting, and the Associated Press.