Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a Law Day ceremony at the Court of Appeals in Albany on May 1st, 2019. Chief Justice Janet DiFiore is on the left and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks is on the right. Photo by David Handschuh/NYLJ)

New York Attorney General Letitia James pushed back vigorously late Friday afternoon against President Donald Trump's reported plans to begin mass arrests of migrant families over the weekend, blasting any such operation as an “act of racism” and promising that “we will do everything in our power to fight back against these inhumane policies.”

“This is an immoral and unconscionable act by a president and an Administration hell-bent on dividing our country, and, as New York's top law enforcement officer, I can assure New Yorkers we will do everything in our power to fight back against these inhumane policies,” James said in a statement released at 5:27 p.m.

She further said that “President Trump's use of migrant families and asylum seekers as political punching bags is a despicable act of racism and xenophobia that is antithetical to our basic human values,” as she referred to the president's reported plan to round up large swaths of migrants who have been given deportation orders previously.

The plan—the “family op,” as it is reportedly called by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security—began to come to light publicly on Monday after Trump tweeted that “next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States.”

According to a Washington Post report on Friday that cites as sources three U.S. officials with knowledge of the plans, agents are set to go after as many as 2,000 families in an operation likely to start with predawn raids in major cities on Sunday.

Up to 10 cities may be home to the raids, along with “other major immigration destinations,” said the news report, again citing the anonymous officials.

The Post noted that the White House has gone to ICE directly and ordered the raids, and thus has circumvented Acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan.

McAleenan, according to the report, has been urging ICE—an agency sitting within his own department—to execute smaller, targeted raids that aim to round up some 150 families who have been given lawyers but who have left the legal process and absconded.

The White House has gone to acting ICE director Mark Morgan and other ICE officials, the report said, as Trump has remained intent on pushing the mass-arrest plans forward.

According to The Post's article, an ICE spokeswoman, Carol Danko, declined to discuss the operation with the news organization, saying only that “as a law enforcement agency, ICE's mission is to uphold the rule of law; operations targeting violators of immigration laws are not only standard practice, but within the statutory authority prescribed by Congress.”

The article further reports that ICE believes it may make many “collateral arrests” by finding others living in the U.S. illegally as the agency descends on target locations for families who have been given deportation orders.

In her statement late Friday afternoon, James noted that “the president has threatened to begin raids in New York and across the country this weekend in an effort to round up thousands of migrant families.”

She also gave information to those who may targeted, saying that “if you want to check whether a removal order has been issued against you, you can call the Immigration Court Information System's automated number at 1-800-898-7180.”

“If you need advice, call the Office of New Americans hotline at 1-800-566-7636,” James added.

The Post story noted that other law enforcement officials have also begun to push back, such as the Los Angeles Police Department, which reportedly issued a statement Friday saying in part that the LAPD ”is not participating or assisting in any of these enforcement actions.”