JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have increased arrests of undocumented immigrants in Mississippi. According to the agency, more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants were arrested in the state this fiscal year.

Brian Acuna, acting-Field Officer Director for the ICE New Orleans Office, said agents are mostly focusing on those who pose a threat.

“Whether it be murder, rape, sexual abuse of minors, child cybercrime, human smuggling, sex for sex trafficking and gang memberships, drug distributions, and any of those kind of scourges of crimes that have real human costs and real victims to the community,” he said.

Despite efforts from the Trump Administration to raise daily arrests, the New Orleans office said there’s no added pressure.

“I’m not going to say there’s pressure. Like I told you, we have our congressionally mandated mission. We’re doing this every day. We have a whole of government approach that there’s a new aspect, too, to how we’re approaching this within the whole of government here. There’s a federal and state and local partnership, just depending on what area of Mississippi we’re working in,” Acuna stated.

President Donald Trump recently spoke about exempting some undocumented farm workers from arrest, but ICE said they remain subject to the removal process.

“We just have to take a case-by-case assessment and figure out whether to take a public safety threat off the street or an illegal alien who has a final order of removal. We take a look at that individually,” said Acuna.

ICE said Mississippi is working to ensure due process, but U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said that’s not always the case.

“We’ve found people who have been deported, who’ve not even been given an opportunity to talk to a lawyer, present their defense. We have people being sent all over the world right now without ever having gone to a court of law,” said Thompson.

ICE claimed they’re working to make sure children are not being separated from their families and left in proper care, or they’re given the choice to leave with their families.