In a display of force aimed at increasing arrests and generating publicity, the administration targeted the nation’s largest city, where sanctuary policies limit cooperation with ICE.

President Donald Trump's top homeland security official joined officers as they carried out an immigration arrest in New York City on Tuesday, the latest effort to promote Trump's nationwide crackdown as enforcement has intensified in recent days.

Federal authorities descended on the Big Apple early Tuesday morning to carry out their first major deportation raids in the city as part of President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and members of other agencies zeroed in on illegal migrants about a week after Trump was sworn into office.

"It's not a spectacle," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said of filming ICE raids. "This is our nation's law enforcement."