How Trump's plans for mass deportations and ICE raids are playing out

Raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that were expected to target major sanctuary cities immediately after President Donald Trump’s inauguration largely failed to materialize as of Tuesday evening. 

But after Trump signed a raft of executive orders relating to border security on his first day in office, the administration began setting groundwork for further immigration actions. 

The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was ending a policy that restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ ability to arrest undocumented people at or near so-called sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals. 

The action follows NBC News’ reporting in December that the Trump administration would roll back this restriction, which had been in place since the Obama administration. It was continued during the first Trump administration and was expanded by the Biden administration to include areas like domestic violence and disaster relief shelters. The restriction discouraged immigration actions from these areas without approval from supervisors in the interest of public safety. 

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” the DHS statement announcing the decision on Tuesday said. 

If and how that will play out in major sanctuary cities like Chicago is yet to be seen.

“It’s a lot of rhetoric designed to fear and terrorize people, especially immigrants,” said Rev. Beth Brown of Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church in Chicago. “If they don’t have a signed judicial warrant, they still cannot enter church buildings, or faith community buildings, because it’s not just churches, it’s all houses of worship.”

The Department of Homeland Security also officially reinstated Migrant Protection Protocols, or what was commonly known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which has asylum seekers wait in Mexico until they were slated to appear before an immigration judge in the United States. 

Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente said the United States made the decision to reinstate Remain in Mexico “unilaterally” and was not part of an agreement with Mexico.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters on Tuesday that Mexico has its “own migratory policies” and will engage in future discussions with U.S. agencies on this matter.

Will there be ICE raids?

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told Fox Tuesday that there would be “targeted enforcement action,” which is similar to what ICE already does throughout the country every day. NBC News asked Homan how these operations would be different.

“We have more people assigned to the mission,” Homan said. He declined to say how many people had been assigned.

Where could they be?

While the Trump administration has not said where the first raids will take place, officials familiar with discussions around possible targets say they will be arresting migrants in major metropolitan cities first. Some of the cities under consideration include the D.C. area, Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. 

What’s next for Trump’s promises of mass deportation?

Trump will likely have to secure more funding from Congress to make good on his promises for mass deportations. He pledged in his inaugural address to deport “millions and millions” of immigrants back to their home countries. But ICE is already short $230 millionto fund its current level of deportations, which removed over 230,000 migrants last year. 

In his day one executive orders, Trump declared a national emergency and ordered the military to help expand detention space and help transport migrants in order to use Department of Defense funding on deportations.

This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News: