Khaberni - The Wall Street Journal cited informed sources stating that American President Donald Trump is convinced that the deportation policies pursued by his administration "have gone too far", emphasizing that he is looking to lower the intensity of his "mass deportation" efforts.
According to the sources, Trump has informed his advisors that voters do not appreciate the term "mass deportation", and he wants to focus in the upcoming period on reducing chaos in American cities, and "arresting the bad guys".
This desire to reset the immigration agenda - according to the newspaper - is partially driven by a vision from the Chief of Staff of the White House, Susie Wiles, who believes that the president's immigration team has turned one of his key issues into a political challenge and burden before the midterm elections scheduled for November 3, 2026.
Despite early polls showing strong support for Trump's goal of deporting undocumented immigrants, recent surveys have revealed increasing opposition, where a poll conducted last month by Washington Post/ABC News found that 58% of participants believe Trump "exaggerates and goes too far" in deportation operations, compared to 48% in April.
As a result, the newspaper indicated that the American administration is trying not only to change how they talk about the issue but also the actual execution on the ground.
The newspaper mentioned that Border Security official, Tom Homan, is leading this shift since he took over the operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in Minneapolis - the largest city in the American state of Minnesota - noting that he has always been relatively moderate voice within the administration on immigration issues.
According to officials, the leadership of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will not proceed - for now - with large-scale operations like those previously carried out in major cities controlled by Democrats such as Chicago, Washington, and Minneapolis, although administration officials confirm that operations may increase again in the future.
The figures indicate that the rate of arrests has declined to about 1,200 cases daily, compared to more than 1,500 cases daily when the agency was conducting its unprecedented operations in Minnesota.
Dismissal of Kristi Noem
Trump's advisors believe the dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem represents a crucial moment to reset the immigration file, as Senator Markwayne Mullin - who was chosen by President Trump to succeed Noem - stated he will steer the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency away from violent clashes that characterized it under Trump, in favor of a more cooperative approach with local officials.
Mullin promised during his confirmation session to cancel many of Noem’s directives, including a policy that had been secretly kept by the agency for months, allowing officers to enter immigrants' private homes without a criminal judicial warrant signed by a judge.
He added, "My goal within 6 months is that we should not be at the forefront of the news every day."
Allies' Concerns
Meanwhile, the newspaper clarified that recent polls have caused concern among some of the president’s closest allies in the immigration file outside the administration, who have spent years preparing for a second term in which they hope to implement a wide-scale deportation campaign.
In this regard, the co-founder of the Immigration Accountability Project, Rosemary Jenks, said that Republicans need to rally their base for the midterm elections and avoid talking about Trump’s most prominent campaign promise (referring to the deportation file), confirming that discussing it is not the right way to rally.
Conversely, Democrats and immigrant rights advocates express their doubts about the occurrence of real change as long as Stephen Miller holds his position. During the hearing session for Mullin, Senator Ruben Gallego stated, "I want to make sure that you will be in charge, and not Stephen Miller."
Miller is a far-right figure, and he held the position of policy advisor in Trump's first administration; he currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House for Political Affairs and Homeland Security Advisor, and is the primary individual responsible for writing Trump's speeches, described as the "architect" of the executive immigration law, and one of the most influential figures in the "Trump movement", characterized by several sources and media as "extremist right-wing, anti-immigration, and white nationalist".
