MSNBC, CNN, liberal media figures claim Trump’s immigration policies are racist, sowing ‘cruelty’ across US

Prominent Democrats and liberal media voices are suggesting that President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign is an act of "cruelty" as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to arrest illegal immigrants in the early days of the new administration.

ICE arrested a number of child sex offenders, as well as gang members and other criminals on Thursday as part of raids in cities across the U.S. Official stats show that as of Thursday evening, there were 373 criminal arrests and 165 non-criminal arrests for the day.

The arrests, in conjunction with the Trump administration's decision to end a Biden-era guideline on "sensitive places" where ICE could not conduct enforcement, prompted backlash from some media networks.

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MSNBC's Rev. Al Sharpton called Trump's immigration orders a civil liberties "nightmare" on Friday. He also suggested that the recent ICE raids were racist and gave leeway for agents to abuse migrants.

"When you look at the fact that there's a serious element of profiling here, that we're looking for people of a certain Black or Brown color, when we're looking at the fact that this is a president that has told law enforcement be tough on people and don't even put their heads down when you're throwing them into a police van. He's opening the doors for police brutality, so I assume that would go with ICE as well," Sharpton told "Morning Joe."

A day earlier, former Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told MSNBC that Americans never "signed up for actual mass deportations" and claimed Trump had set up a system that resembles an "un-American" police state.

CNN political commentator Maria Cardona claimed that Trump's policies would do "nothing" to solve the problems and challenges of immigration.

"All of it is focused on cruelty, on division, on separating families and on inflicting as much pain as possible in communities across the country," she said.

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CNN political commentator Kate Bedingfield echoed Cardona's statement when she told one of the network's panels on Thursday that Trump's policies should not be focused on "cruelty."

"I think Trump seems to be sometimes quite gleeful in pursuing policies that are hurting young children or hurting young families," she added.

CNN also ran segments highlighting the "fear" illegal immigrants now face in the wake of Trump's orders. These segments often highlighted concerns that ICE raids could have a negative economic impact on communities with large Hispanic populations.

Despite these concerns, CNN's own data guru, Harry Enten, revealed on Wednesday that a majority of Americans, according to polling, now believe that all illegal immigrants should be deported.

Enten also revealed there has been a "massive shift" to the right regarding immigration views. According to Gallup polling, 55 percent of Americans polled want immigration levels decreased—a 17-point jump since 2016.

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In a story published on Wednesday, the New York Times reportered Trump's recent executive order designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terror groups could force American companies to choose to end business in Mexico rather than incur government sanctions.

This could result in "an outcome that could have a major effect on both countries given their deep economic interdependence," the Times reported. The headline read, "How Labeling Cartels 'Terrorists' Could Hurt the U.S. Economy."

Trump has promised to "seal" the border and launch what he said would be a historic deportation campaign. On Monday, he signed 10 orders related to the border, including orders to restart wall construction, end parole programs, limit birthright citizenship and deploy the military to the border.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to the latest ICE arrests as proof the administration is delivering on its promises.

"The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway," she said on X. "Promises made. Promises kept."

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.