By Samantha Waldenberg and Priscilla Alvarez

(CNN) — President Donald Trump called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand deportation efforts in Democratic cities and “do all in their power” to achieve mass deportations in a social media post Sunday.

“ICE Officers are herewith ordered, by notice of this TRUTH, to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” the president posted on Truth Social as he traveled on Air Force One to Canada for the G7 summit.

The president’s post comes as CNN has reported that ICE has been racing to meet White House arrest quotas and on the heels of Trump acknowledging that his immigration policies have impacted farmworkers and those in the hospitality industry.

The White House has enlisted components across the federal government to achieve its goal of 3,000 immigration-related arrests per day. But while the Trump administration has publicly touted its enforcement efforts, officials have privately faced criticism for failing to meet that quota, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

Trump also directed ICE in his social media post on Sunday to “expand efforts” in “the Democrat Power Center” while claiming without evidence that his political opponents are using “Illegal Aliens” to “cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State.”

“We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” Trump said.

As long as quotas remain in place, ICE will likely have to ramp up arrests in communities, particularly if guardrails are set up around certain workplaces, according to multiple sources familiar with discussions.

“We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets,” Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN.

An anticipated months long immigration enforcement operation has already been underway targeting around two dozen Democratic-led cities, according to a source familiar with the planning.

Agents from various federal agencies, including from US Customs and Border Protection, have been assigned to fan out to those cities as the administration pushes to increase interior arrests, the source said.

“We got to be more efficient. We put more teams out there. We’ve increased targeting, so we expect those numbers to increase,” White House border czar Tom Homan previously told CNN, referring to migrant arrests.

The administration’s immigration crackdown sparked protests in Los Angeles earlier this month, which prompted the president to mobilize both National Guard troops and Marines to deal with demonstrations over federal raids in the city.

Protests have expanded across the country, culminating in scores of anti-Trump demonstrators taking to the streets in “No Kings” protests nationwide over the weekend.

Since Trump took office, ICE, which had previously been operating with a set of guidelines focused on public safety and national security threats, has had to pivot as the key agency at the core of the president’s campaign promise to carry out mass deportations. Recent arrests have taken place during routine immigration checks, and at immigration court and worksites.

Immigration-enforcement operations have created a chilling effect on some industries heavily reliant on immigrant workforces, including farms and hotels, and as ICE races to fulfill Trump’s goal to increase deportations. The president appeared to acknowledge Thursday that his immigration policies are straining those sectors.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Michael Williams contributed to this report.

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