Federal immigration officers have been instructed to continue detaining all undocumented individuals regardless of their criminal history, according to new directives from the Department of Homeland Security. President Trump told journalist Bill Melugin that anyone in the U.S. illegally remains "on the table" for deportation, and confirmed that agents will continue to perform "collateral arrests" of non-criminals. These orders supersede a verbal directive from the previous weekend that reached ICE offices nationwide and caused frustration among agents, though officials now describe that instruction as an "erroneous miscommunication" during talks on "worst first" prioritization.

The confusion follows a reported policy shift first detailed by The Daily Wire, where agency sources claimed ICE had been told to halt arrests of those without convictions or pending charges. This controversy coincided with DHS Secretary Mullin declaring worksites in Kansas off-limits for ICE, except when targeting violent criminals or drug traffickers. The perceived retreat from enforcement led to complaints from political critics and caused some businesses in southwest Kansas to shut their doors temporarily as agencies conducted other regional raids.