U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director Todd Lyons said in an interview that aired Sunday that his agency will crack down on American companies hiring unauthorized workers.
“Not only are we focused on those individuals that are, you know, working here illegally, we’re focused on these American companies that are actually exploiting these laborers,” Lyons said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”
“These people that came here for a better life. You know, either, you know, forced labor, child trafficking, you know, a lot of these work site cases — just isn’t a victimless crime of someone here working illegally,” he added. “And that’s why we’re going there with these criminal warrants to focus on these American businesses that are trying to make an extra dollar on the backs of these people that came here for a better life.”
In the first few months of his second term, President Trump and his administration have heavily cracked down on immigration, drawing criticism from Democrats and advocates.
On Sunday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) criticized the Trump administration’s reasoning for allowing ICE officers to wear masks as a way to protect themselves and their families from retaliation.
“Well, first of all, let me just tell you that the masked men are not from Los Angeles, and so how their families could be retaliated against,” Bass said on “Face the Nation.”
“And then what is that to say to local law enforcement, the Los Angeles Police Department, none of whom are ever masked, who always identify themselves and even hand someone a business card. So that makes absolutely no sense at all,” she added.