President Donald Trump has once again thrust immigration enforcement into the national spotlight, defending a series of aggressive raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and insisting that federal agents "haven’t gone far enough." In a high-profile interview with CBS News’s 60 Minutes aired on November 3, 2025, Trump doubled down on the tactics used by ICE, even as viral videos and mounting criticism have made the raids a flashpoint in the ongoing immigration debate.
During the interview, CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell confronted the president with footage and reports of ICE agents using tear gas in Chicago neighborhoods, smashing car windows, and tackling a young mother to the ground at a New York immigration court. These incidents, widely circulated online and in the press, have fueled protests and accusations of rights violations across the country. When O’Donnell pressed Trump on whether the raids had gone too far, he was unequivocal: "No. I think they haven’t gone far enough, because we’ve been held back by judges — by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama," he replied, according to CBS News.
Trump’s remarks came just days after a particularly disturbing video emerged from a New York courthouse. In the clip, an ICE agent is seen shoving an Ecuadoran woman to the ground as her children look on in horror. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded by temporarily relieving the agent of duty, with Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stating, "The officer’s conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE." However, after a preliminary review, the agent was reinstated, a move that has drawn further scrutiny and concern from immigrant rights advocates and local officials.
Despite the backlash, Trump stood firm in his support of ICE’s methods. When asked if he was "OK with those tactics," he answered, "Well, yeah, because you have to get the people out." He went on to justify the raids by claiming, "Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people thrown out of their countries because they were, you know, criminals." The president’s assertion echoes his long-standing rhetoric that his administration is targeting "the worst of the worst"—violent criminals, rapists, and others deemed dangerous.
Yet, the reality on the ground appears more complicated. As O’Donnell pointed out, many of those arrested and deported in recent months have not been violent criminals. "A lot of the people that your administration has arrested and deported aren’t violent criminals: landscapers, nannies, construction workers, farmworkers, the families of service members," she challenged. Trump countered, "Landscapers who are criminals, yeah," but also conceded, "We have to start off with a policy, and the policy has to be that ‘You came into the country illegally, you’re going to go out.’ However, you’ve also seen, ‘You’re going to go out. We’re going to work with you, and you’re going to come back into our country legally.'"
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump’s administration has ramped up immigration enforcement nationwide, with a particular focus on so-called "sanctuary cities"—municipalities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Cities like Chicago and Boston have reported a significant uptick in ICE operations, with agents often donning masks and employing aggressive tactics. Department of Homeland Security sources told Nexstar Media Inc. that ICE is now "everywhere," a sentiment echoed by residents and local officials alike.
The response from state and local leaders has been swift and critical. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker have both condemned the federal immigration operations in their states. In San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie released a nine-minute video statement denouncing the deployment of federal officers to his city, warning that it would "incite chaos and violence, rather than reduce crime." Lurie added, "In cities across the country, masked immigration officials are deployed to use aggressive enforcement tactics that instill fear, so people don’t feel safe going about their daily lives."
The controversy has also drawn attention to the effectiveness and focus of ICE’s efforts. According to internal ICE data obtained by NBC News, only 6% of undocumented immigrants known to ICE to have been convicted of homicide and 11% convicted of sexual assault were detained in the last three months of the Biden administration and the first five months of Trump’s current term. This data has fueled criticism that the administration’s raids are sweeping up large numbers of non-criminal immigrants, despite campaign promises to prioritize dangerous offenders.
Trump, however, has remained steadfast in his message. "We’re doing that. That’s what we’re doing," he said when asked if his administration was focused on deporting violent criminals. At the same time, he acknowledged the economic need for certain workers. "Look, I need farmers and I need landscapers more than anybody," he told O’Donnell, but reiterated, "We have to start off with a policy, and the policy has to be, you came into the country illegally, you’re going to go out." He added that if undocumented immigrants wish to return to the United States, "we’re going to work with you, and you’re going to come back into our country legally."
The president’s comments on 60 Minutes also marked his first interview with CBS since a $16 million settlement with the network over a contentious 2024 pre-election interview. The timing of the interview, and the decision to address ICE’s controversial tactics so directly, suggest that Trump is making immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his second term agenda—despite, or perhaps because of, the intense pushback from political opponents, advocacy groups, and some members of the public.
Meanwhile, the debate over the scope and morality of ICE’s actions continues to rage. Protests have erupted in cities nationwide, with demonstrators decrying what they see as heavy-handed tactics and violations of civil rights. Allegations of rights abuses, including reports of agents pointing weapons at civilians and multiple deaths connected to enforcement actions, have only heightened the sense of urgency among critics.
Supporters of the administration, on the other hand, argue that strong enforcement is necessary to restore order to the immigration system and protect American communities. They point to the president’s promises to crack down on illegal immigration and argue that the current approach is a necessary corrective after years of what they see as lax enforcement under previous administrations.
As the nation watches the fallout from the latest round of ICE raids and awaits further policy announcements, the question remains: how far is too far when it comes to enforcing the country’s immigration laws? For now, President Trump’s answer is clear—and it’s a message that’s likely to shape the national conversation for months to come.
