President Donald Trump said on Friday mass deportation roundups would begin "fairly soon" as U.S. migrant advocates vowed their communities would be "ready" when immigration officers come.
Trump, who has made a hardline immigration stance a key issue of his presidency and his 2020 re-election bid, postponed the operation last month after the planned date was leaked to the press, but on Monday he said the roundups would take place after the July 4 holiday.
"They'll be starting fairly soon, but I don't call them raids, we're removing people, all of these people who have come in over the years illegally," he told reporters at the White House on Friday.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month said raids would target undocumented migrants who had recently arrived in the United States so as to discourage a surge of Central American families at the southwest border.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's statement.