Rifles, stun grenades, armored trucks in ICE raids spur tensions

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is intensifying efforts to round up migrants. It’s also doing so with increasingly aggressive tactics.

In scenes from San Diego to Massachusetts, agents outfitted with bullet-resistant vests and often displaying military-style rifles are shown in social media videos and photos being escorted along city streets by armored vehicles. A clip from Rhode Island shows an agent standing in a truck’s open hatch, manning a rifle.

The operations led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, often joined by local law enforcement, have coincided with a dramatic increase in arrests of people for running afoul of immigration laws — with ICE reporting more than 1,600 daily apprehensions. That’s more than double the 630 average of recent weeks and a roughly 450% increase over typical numbers during former U.S. President Joe Biden’s last year in office.