White House says immigration crackdown will continue despite midterm defeat

US President Donald Trump's administration has vowed not to change course on its mass deportation plans after last week's midterm elections defeat. In a statement to the BBC on Sunday, the White House said its campaign to arrest and deport illegal immigrants would continue as before.

The White House statement said: "This administration will not slow down its efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens who terrorise our communities." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delivered the same message.

On Friday, Trump promoted Stephen Miller, known as an immigration hawk, to White House chief of staff. Miller is widely seen as the architect of the administration's hardline immigration policy during the first and second Trump presidencies. His promotion was read as a signal that there would be no softening of the administration's position on immigration.

In Tuesday's election, Democrats won landslide congressional majorities. Exit polls indicate immigration was the third most important issue for midterm voters, after the economy and the state of democracy. In historically conservative states like Texas, a swing of Latino voters towards Democrats helped seal the party's victory.

But multiple US officials told the BBC's US partner CBS that the administration had put the midterm losses down to concerns about the economy, affordability and the war with Iran, rather than its immigration crackdown.

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said: "There has never been a President stronger on immigration enforcement than President Trump." On Sunday, the White House maintained there would be no change of direction.

A DHS spokesperson told CBS: "ICE is NOT backing away or slowing down. Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to enforce our nation's laws and remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets."

Following Tuesday's results, Vice-President JD Vance had appeared receptive to adjusting their immigration strategy. In a lengthy online post reflecting on the results, he wrote that he was open to changing enforcement, by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour, for instance.

But the White House's posture appears to have hardened after Trump promoted Stephen Miller on Friday to become his new chief of staff. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources told CBS that in recent weeks officials have been instructed to aim for about 2,700 arrests of illegal immigrants per day, an increase from an earlier 2,000 daily arrest target.

Enforcement sweeps this year spurred anti-ICE demonstrations in cities including Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. Protesters have questioned the scale and conduct of the operations.

In Minneapolis, two US protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by immigration agents. Those two deaths have intensified the debate over immigration enforcement.

Taken together, the Trump administration has given no indication of backing away from its immigration crackdown despite the election setback. Miller's appointment and the higher arrest target instead point to the campaign intensifying in the days ahead.