Podcaster Joe Rogan is speaking out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations under the Trump administration, arguing that agents are being driven by arrest quotas rather than a focus on serious criminals.
Why It Matters
Rogan endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, interviewed him on his podcast and attended his inauguration. Immigration was a central issue in Trump’s campaign, with promises of the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
Concerns Over Quotas
During a recent podcast episode with civil rights attorney Josh Dubin, Rogan said ICE appears to be operating under numerical targets.
“They want to remove a certain amount of people per week,” Rogan said, arguing that such goals put “everything on the table” when agents are pressured to meet numbers.
Reports have indicated that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller set a daily arrest target of 3,000 for ICE agents, drawing criticism from advocates who say quotas encourage broad sweeps instead of targeted enforcement.
Targeting the ‘Easiest Pickings’
Rogan suggested that quota-driven enforcement leads agents to detain easily accessible individuals rather than prioritizing gang members or cartel leaders.
“Then they start showing up at Home Depot instead of looking for gangbangers and cartel members,” Rogan said.
He cited accounts from Ed Calderon, a former Mexican military officer who now reports on cartel activity in the United States, describing what Rogan called troubling ICE raid practices.
Human Impact of Deportations
One example Rogan shared involved a man brought to the U.S. as a baby who lived in the country for two decades but never obtained citizenship. The man, who did not speak Spanish and had no criminal record, was deported to Mexico without money.
“He’s essentially an American,” Rogan said. “He just doesn’t have the paperwork.”
Growing Criticism
Despite his past support for Trump, Rogan has become an increasingly vocal critic of the administration’s immigration enforcement approach, repeatedly questioning ICE’s priorities and the impact of raids on nonviolent immigrants.
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