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GOP Lawmaker Says Trump Admin Has 'Overreached' on Deportations
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, is criticizing the Trump administration 's deportation efforts, telling Newsweek that officials have gone after people who "make zero sense to deport" and arguing some removals lack "common sense and humanity."
Bacon made the remarks while calling attention to the case of Mariana, an Omaha woman who is scheduled to report for removal from the United States on September 18 despite having no criminal record and years of ties to the community.
"The Administration has overreached on deportations , going after people who make zero sense to deport, like Mariana," Bacon told Newsweek in an email. "But I hold Congress most responsible because the laws need improvements. The problem is that too many in Congress are afraid of their shadows on this particular issue."
The comments represent a notable criticism of the administration's immigration enforcement from a Republican lawmaker who has supported securing the U.S. border and removing immigrants who pose public-safety threats.
Earlier Saturday, Bacon shared an opinion piece he wrote for the Omaha World-Herald focused on Mariana's case and posted on X that while deporting dangerous criminals and others who threaten public safety is a "wise and popular" policy, the government has crossed into "inhumane, indecent, & Un-Christian actions" in some cases.
"America must be better than this," Bacon wrote in his X post.
The White House , however, rejected Bacon's criticism.
"We are enforcing the laws passed by Congress. The Trump administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Newsweek on Saturday. "We encourage illegal aliens to use the CBP Home app to take control of their departure, receive a $2,600 check, and a free flight home."
Bacon's remarks come as the administration continues to expand immigration enforcement efforts. In July, border czar Tom Homan said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) was on pace for a second consecutive record-breaking month for arrests and described the campaign as "deportation-maxxing."
President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, and immigrants residing in the country both illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has reported dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the immigration raids and various arrests.
Newsweek also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) and ICE for comment.
In his Omaha World-Herald op-ed, Bacon described Mariana as an honors graduate and aspiring commercial pilot who came to the U.S. when she was 16 years old after what he called a difficult childhood marked by trauma and instability.
According to the congressman, Mariana taught herself English, graduated from Omaha Central High School, earned an aviation degree from the University of Nebraska Omaha with academic honors and obtained a private pilot's license while supporting herself through work.
Bacon said a removal order was entered after Mariana missed an immigration hearing while she was still a minor. According to Bacon, Mariana has complied with immigration authorities' requirements, including annual check-ins, and previously received stays of removal.
"I have talked to the Secretary of Homeland Security," Bacon told Newsweek . "Because she missed her appointment when she was in [high school] and was abandoned by her parents, the courts ruled against her. She was never personally notified of the hearing."
The congressman argued that deporting people who have built lives in the U.S. and complied with immigration requirements does little to improve public safety.
He also expanded his criticism beyond Mariana's case, arguing that some individuals with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, should be allowed to remain in the U.S. permanently under certain conditions.
"The deportations of TPS folks are also a travesty," Bacon said. "We have people here legally for 10 years, working and many are married to Americans. They should get a pathway to permanent residence if they have a clean record and are working."
TPS allows nationals of designated countries affected by war, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to live and work legally in the country temporarily.
The congressman's comments come as ICE detention statistics that were published last month show an increase in immigration enforcement activity . The agency released the updated detention data after a three-month gap in public reporting, showing arrests and detention levels continuing to rise.
ICE was holding 65,765 people in detention as of July 11, up from about 60,300 in early April and approaching the record level of more than 70,700 detainees reported earlier this year, per the data.
Arrests averaged roughly 1,474 per day during the first 11 days of July, exceeding June's average of more than 1,300 daily arrests and marking the highest pace of the current Trump administration, according to an analysis by Syracuse University researcher Austin Kocher.
The same data show approximately 1,246 removals per day between April and July, while the detained population has continued to grow. Researchers analyzing the figures noted that people with no criminal history represent the largest single group currently held in ICE detention.
The share of detainees held solely on immigration violations has increased since April, while the proportion with criminal charges or convictions has declined. Immigration judges have also ordered thousands of detainees released since January, including more than 2,000 releases in May alone.
Like many Republicans, Bacon supports stricter border security and has argu...
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