根据国土安全部，名为“中途闪电行动”的行动以“恐吓美国人的犯罪非法移民”为目标，但11月5日在芝加哥的法庭证词显示，正是国土安全部的特工在恐吓民众：官员曾对人群指枪，对住宅街区施放催泪瓦斯，并在被拘留者离开后仍瞄准武器。视频显示，带队的边境巡逻官格雷戈里·博维诺曾扑倒并对抗议者使用催泪瓦斯；他将力量使用形容为“超出模范”，并曾在洛杉矶告诉特工：“如果他们碰你们，人人都该死”。这些证词与国土安全部称仅在抗议者袭击他们时才使用武力的说法相互矛盾。
该运动依靠规模与人员调动：近15,000名联邦人员——包括边境巡逻与联邦调查局特工——被重新分配以协助驱逐。边境巡逻约有20,000名特工，相比之下ICE执法部门约6,000人。国土安全部计划年底前再招10,000名驱逐官，提供高达50,000美元的签约奖金；已收到超过175,000份申请并发出18,000个工作邀请。超过30,000名联邦官员可能参与城市执法，接近纽约警察局规模。《一号美好法案》为执法拨款1700亿美元。历史上，2003至2013年间CBP将边境巡逻人数翻倍；政府问责局报告2005–2012年间有超过2,000起官员不当逮捕，期间125名特工被定罪。
联邦特工拥有逮捕权和军事装备，而守则委员会法案限制下的国民警卫队则无此权力，这使联邦力量可被快速全国部署。法官与地方官员正试图反制：法官萨拉·埃利斯下令限制对抗议者与记者使用武力，并在认定博维诺为为解释催泪瓦斯而撒谎后命令其佩戴执法记录仪；像杜兰戈等地的地方检察机关正在调查可能的指控。然而武装车队与戏剧性行动仍在继续，官员警告这股不断增长的军事化执法旨在恐吓，可能扩散至更多城市与乡村地区。
According to DHS, "Operation Midway Blitz" targets "criminal illegal aliens terrorising Americans", but courtroom testimony on Nov 5 in Chicago says agents terrified residents: officers pointed guns, teargassed streets, and filmed arrests where an agent aimed a weapon after detainees had left. Videos show Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino tackling and tear-gassing protesters; he described use of force as "more than exemplary" and earlier instructed agents: "Everybody fucking gets it if they touch you." These accounts contradict DHS claims that force is used only after protesters assault agents.
The campaign relies on scale and reassignments: nearly 15,000 federal officers—including Border Patrol and FBI—were reassigned to assist deportations. Border Patrol has nearly 20,000 agents versus roughly 6,000 ICE enforcement officers. DHS plans to hire 10,000 deportation officers, offering up to $50,000 signing bonuses; it received >175,000 applications and offered 18,000 jobs. More than 30,000 federal officers could operate in cities, approaching the size of the NYPD. The One Big Beautiful Bill included $170bn for enforcement. Historically CBP doubled its Border Patrol force between 2003–2013; the GAO recorded >2,000 arrests for officer misconduct from 2005–2012 and 125 convictions.
Federal agents have arrest powers and military equipment that National Guard troops lack because of the Posse Comitatus Act, enabling rapid national deployment. Judges and local officials are pushing back: Judge Sara Ellis ordered force limits and required Bovino to wear a body camera after finding he lied about being struck; local prosecutors in places like Durango are investigating possible charges. Yet convoys and theatrics continue, and officials warn that this growing, militarized enforcement is intended as an intimidation tactic and may spread to other cities and rural areas.