Insiders have revealed shocking sabotage inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), jeopardizing President Donald Trump’s massive deportation campaign.
JJ Carrell, a 24-year veteran of the US Border Patrol turned author and YouTuber, told the Daily Mail the administration is falling behind its own immigration goals.
Carrell blamed the shortfall not on liberal judges or sanctuary cities but on “internal sabotage” within the agencies charged with enforcing Trump’s agenda.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Carrell said. DHS reported 527,000 illegal migrants deported this year, with 1.6 million “self-deported.” While higher than under Biden, the White House’s target of one million arrests and 3,000 daily arrests remains far out of reach.
“If we do this at this pace, it will take us over 125 years to deport everybody,” Carrell said. “This is unacceptable. It’s ineffective, and it’s not working. Period.”
Carrell singled out ICE and mid- and upper-level officials as the weak links. He claimed many previously followed unconstitutional orders under Biden and now resist Trump’s orders.
“The same border sector chiefs and those running ICE are the same people who opened the border,” he said. “They cannot—or will not—execute Trump’s agenda with the urgency required.”
He praised Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol chief aligned with Trump, for leading high-profile raids.
“There are 20 Border Patrol sectors across the nation, but there is only one chief that is actually doing interior enforcement,” Carrell said.
The challenge is immense. Roughly 53 million people in the US are immigrants, many without legal status.
Carrell argued the White House has made missteps that slowed enforcement. A proposed amnesty for farm and hospitality workers, later walked back, still caused political damage, according to the Daily Mail.
Carrell also criticized ICE’s structure. Many agents specialize in white-collar cases, detention center management, or logistics, not the street-level arrests now demanded. Cross-agency friction adds to the strain. Hundreds of former agents eager to return remain sidelined by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of men like me that have been waiting for months… ready to go back, and they won’t put us in a position to do it,” he said.
Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July, funding 10,000 new ICE officers, 6,000 to 8,500 CBP personnel, and larger detention centers. Carrell said even with resources, DHS cannot scale fast enough due to slow hiring and months-long background checks.
Legal pushback, overcrowded lockups, and other obstacles further hinder operations. Some federal agents target street vendors, delivery drivers, and construction workers. Civil-rights groups accuse the administration of cruelty, while supporters argue the law is finally being enforced.
Carrell called for dramatic changes. Border Patrol should command interior operations. Raids should be military-backed and include rapid immigration hearings. Deportation flights should run on a fleet of C-130 aircraft, moving people out in bulk.
Polling shows Americans are divided. A New York Times/Siena survey found 54% support deporting illegal immigrants. But 52% disapprove of Trump’s handling, and 51% believe his actions have gone too far.
Carrell emphasized urgency.
“A handful of dedicated officers are doing their jobs, and the rest amounts to theater,” he said. “Unless Trump tears down internal obstacles and rebuilds the enforcement system, the promise that fueled his return to power may remain out of reach.”
