US politics live: Colombia backs down over deportations as immigration raids begin in Chicago | US immigration
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates as Donald Trump begins the second week of his second term in office.
This morning, the US and Colombia have pulled back from brink of a trade war after Colombia agreed to accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US.
Trump had threatened to impose trade tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after it initially refused to accept the flights.
In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the flights and that the threatened penalties would not go ahead.
Stay with us throughout the day for all the latest developments.
Key events
All countries “should be on notice” that they face sanctions if they do not cooperate with US deportation efforts, the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has said.
It comes after Colombia agreed to accept repatriated citizens having initially refused to take two planes of deportees.
“Colombia and all nations should be on notice – Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States,” Johnson wrote on X.
“President Trump is putting America first, just like he said he would. And Congress will implement policies that reinforce his agenda.”
Colombia and all nations should be on notice – Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States.
President Trump is putting…
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 26, 2025
Immigration raids begin in Chicago
US federal authorities have begun immigration raids in Chicago, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) statement confirmed on Sunday.
It comes after the White House border czar, Tom Homan, said officials were “reconsidering” the raids to ensure officers’ safety after details were leaked into the press.
Ice said its agents, along with the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP, and the US Marshals Service, had begun conducting “enhanced targeted operations” in Chicago “to enforce US immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities”.
Homan previously said Chicago would be “ground zero” for immigration enforcement actions.
The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration has directed Ice officials to increase daily arrests from a few hundred to 1,200 to 1,500.
More now on that news that Colombia has agreed to accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US, narrowly averting a trade war between the two countries.
In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said: “The government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”
The Colombian foreign minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, said in his own statement that “we have overcome the impasse with the US government”, adding: “We will continue receiving Colombians who return as deportees.”
Trump had threatened to impose 25% tariffs “on all goods” exported from Colombia to the US, rising to 50% after a week, after Colombia refused to accept two military planes carrying deportees.
In response, Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, announced retaliatory tariffs and said he would only take back citizens “with dignity”, such as on civilian planes.
Murillo’s statement did not specifically say that the agreement included military flights, but it did not contradict the White House announcement.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates as Donald Trump begins the second week of his second term in office.
This morning, the US and Colombia have pulled back from brink of a trade war after Colombia agreed to accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US.
Trump had threatened to impose trade tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after it initially refused to accept the flights.
In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the flights and that the threatened penalties would not go ahead.
Stay with us throughout the day for all the latest developments.
