Washington, July 9 (RHC)-- The acting head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was ready to start rounding up and deporting 1 million people.  

The comments from Ken Cuccinelli echoed threats by Trump last week, who said the raids would start sometime after the holiday weekend.  City officials, police departments and mayors from major cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and New York, said last month they would refuse to cooperate with ICE if Trump enacted mass deportations.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and FBI officials have mined the databases of multiple state Department of Motor Vehicles records, using facial recognition technology.  This includes at least three states where undocumented residents are allowed to obtain driver’s licenses: Vermont, Utah and Washington.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have blasted the practice, which has not been authorized by Congress.  Immigrant and communities of color have warned that facial recognition can be easily weaponized to target and criminalize vulnerable populations.