A MAGA-aligned group calling itself the Mass Deportation Coalition released a playbook on April 1 urging the Trump administration to make large-scale worksite immigration enforcement a central tool for increasing deportations, arguing the goal should be at least 1 million formal removals in 2026. The document, which invokes President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s enforcement-era example, also recommends tightening employment verification and using a broader “whole-of-government” approach that could heighten tensions with industries that rely heavily on unauthorized labor.
The Mass Deportation Coalition—a network of immigration hawks and supporters of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation pledge—published its playbook online on April 1. In the document, the coalition argues that deportation efforts must expand beyond a primary focus on “worst-of-the-worst” criminal cases and move into a second phase centered on higher-volume enforcement.
A core recommendation is aggressive worksite enforcement. “There is no chance for a mass deportation program if worksite enforcement is not the centerpiece,” the playbook says, arguing that focusing on workplaces is the most efficient way to find people without legal status. The playbook also ties its approach to historical precedent, saying worksite-focused enforcement was part of how Eisenhower-era efforts achieved large numbers and contending the Trump administration should seek to exceed those enforcement results.
The playbook calls for changes intended to make unauthorized employment harder, including modernizing employment verification systems and pursuing a broader, multi-agency strategy designed to increase departures. It also presses the administration to publish more detailed enforcement data and adopt “meaningful metrics” for what it counts as deportations.
However, some of the coalition’s quantitative claims about current enforcement are not consistently supported by public reporting and government releases. The playbook itself asserts that, in the administration’s first year back in office, there were “less than 350,000” deportations and argues that self-deportation through the CBP Home app has been far below levels the administration has promoted.
By contrast, a September 23, 2025 Department of Homeland Security news release said the administration was on pace to reach nearly 600,000 deportations by the end of the first year and claimed two million people had left the United States in less than 250 days, including an estimated 1.6 million voluntary departures and more than 400,000 deportations. Because DHS’s public-facing numbers have been presented in different ways over time, and because outside groups have criticized gaps in detailed reporting, the exact totals and definitions remain contested.
The coalition has also tried to bolster its case with polling. The playbook includes findings such as: if Trump exceeds one million deportations in 2026, 74% of Trump voters would be more likely to vote Republican for Congress. The Oversight Project, a coalition partner, separately cited coalition-backed polling that it said showed strong support among Trump voters—including Hispanic Trump voters—for surpassing Eisenhower-era enforcement levels.
Separate public polling has shown Americans divided not only on deportation goals but also on enforcement tactics. An ABC News/Ipsos poll reported by Good Morning America in early 2026 found that Americans were closely split on deporting all undocumented immigrants (50% in favor, 48% opposed), while a larger share said Trump was going “too far” on deportations.
The broader debate has played out alongside leadership changes and high-profile enforcement controversies. In late March 2026, Trump replaced then–Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma; Mullin was sworn in and has begun reversing or reviewing several Noem-era department policies, according to the Associated Press. Earlier in 2026, the administration also reassigned Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino from the Minneapolis area after criticism over an immigration enforcement surge there and placed White House border czar Tom Homan in charge of the operation, AP reported.
In Washington, the White House has denied that political considerations are driving any change in enforcement direction. In a March 2026 Washington Post report about Republican messaging ahead of midterms, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “Nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda,” adding that deporting “illegal alien criminals” has been the administration’s highest priority.
The coalition’s call for expanded worksite raids is likely to revive pushback from business groups that have long warned that sudden enforcement surges can disrupt supply chains and local economies. The playbook argues the political upside of an expanded crackdown outweighs those concerns—and that worksite enforcement is essential if the administration is to approach its stated 2026 target.
