Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the arrest of Jaskaran Singh, identified as an Indian national with a final order of removal, in a statement sent to X. The agency said Singh will remain in federal custody while deportation proceedings proceed.
“ICE San Diego arrested Jaskaran Singh, a criminal alien from India with a final order of removal. Singh’s criminal history includes hit and run. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” the agency said.
The arrests follow a pattern of targeted enforcement actions in the San Diego region. On March 6, ICE announced a separate arrest — that of another Indian citizen, Jashanpreet Singh — on charges including criminal threats with intent to terrorize, assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence.
“ICE San Diego arrested Jashanpreet Singh, a criminal alien from India. Singh’s criminal history includes making criminal threats with intent to terrorize, assault with a deadly weapon and DUI. He will remain in custody pending removal proceedings,” the agency said in the case.
Who is Jaskaran Singh – and what are the charges?
Aside from the ICE statement, authorities have released limited information about Singh. It is confirmed that he has a valid order of removal – meaning that the immigration courts have already ruled that he is deportable – and that he has a felony assault charge on his criminal record. ICE did not specify when or where the crime occurred or disclose how long Singh had been in the United States before his arrest.
Two Indian nationals arrested in San Diego within days – a pattern of targeted enforcement
The back-to-back arrests of two Indian nationals in San Diego within days is notable, though ICE has not said the cases are related. Both are part of what federal officials describe as the key to more targeted enforcement — prioritizing individuals with criminal records rather than the sweeping street sweeps that characterized the first months of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
This shift is significant. Internal government data reviewed by The New York Times reveal that ICE officers arrested roughly 11% fewer people per day in February than in January — the lowest level of arrests seen since September. The decline was partly due to a decrease in the number of immigrants arrested without a criminal record.
Trump’s Mass Deportation Is Quietly Pulling Back – Here’s Why
The arrests in San Diego come amid a significant, if understated, recalibration of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy. After months of high-profile, militarized raids across major U.S. cities, the administration backed away from its most aggressive tactics, according to three federal officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss domestic strategy.
Immigration agents have moved to conduct more targeted operations rather than indiscriminate checks — a change that makes enforcement less visible but not less active. “It’s not at the level it used to be,” said Andre Vasquez, a Chicago City Council member. “But they won’t go away.
The turnaround was precipitated by a series of damaging episodes. In Minneapolis, federal immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — during clashes with protesters in January, sparking intense political pressure on the White House. Since then, hundreds of federal agents have been withdrawn from Minneapolis. In Los Angeles, monitoring groups report a significant drop in sightings of ICE and Border Patrol officers. In Chicago, immigration officials are no longer stationed in Home Depot parking lots to question and detain day laborers of Mexican and Central American descent.
Trump himself has acknowledged the need for recalibration, admitting that his administration could use a “softer touch” when it comes to enforcement — a remarkable admission from a president whose campaign was largely built on a promise of mass deportations.
Kristi Noem Ousted — A symbolic shift at the top
The internal strategic retreat was accompanied by a striking personnel change. On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has become the most visible face of the mass deportation campaign, was removed from her post. The administration offered no explicit criticism of the department’s approach, but the timing left little ambiguity about the direction of travel.
The numbers tell a more complex story
Despite the tactical retreat, the scope of ICE enforcement remains historically elevated under the Trump administration. Daily arrests are about four times higher than in the last year of the Biden administration, according to a Times analysis of federal data.
Even more striking, more than 40% of ICE arrestees in February had no criminal record — nearly double the rate seen in the first months of Trump’s second term and five times the rate seen under Biden. That number is in uncomfortable tension given that the administration has said it is targeting individuals with criminal histories, suggesting that recalibration is still very much a work in progress.
Polls now show that most Americans believe ICE’s tactics have gone too far. Democrats in Congress have blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security and demanded major reforms. Even within Republican ranks, voices calling for a change in approach have grown stronger ahead of the midterm elections.
What happens next for Jaskaran Singh
Singh remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of removal proceedings. Because a final order of removal already exists, the legal path to removal is more direct than for individuals still moving through immigration court. ICE has not given a timetable for his removal to India.
