Hundreds of migrants in the United States were arrested Thursday and others flown out of the country on military aircraft as President Donald Trump's promised mass deportation operation got underway, the White House said.

The crackdown came as Trump prepared to head on Friday to California and North Carolina, where natural disasters have turned into political footballs, in his first trip since his return to office.

And on another whirlwind day in his first week as president, Trump told Fox News he would "rather not" impose tariffs on China, after repeated vows to hit America's biggest economic rival with hefty import levies.

The Republican also said he would reach out to Kim Jong Un again, calling the North Korean leader he previously met three times a "smart guy."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump's administration on Thursday "arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals," adding "hundreds" were deported by military aircraft.

"The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway," she said in a post on social media platform X.

Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second term this week with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry to the United States.

On his........

© International Business Times