President Trump is delaying the announced ICE raids that were reportedly set to start Sunday, according to a tweet this afternoon.

“At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border,” Trump tweeted on Saturday.

“If not, Deportations start!”

Raids were to start Sunday in “major US cities, according to the Washington Post:

President Trump has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to conduct a mass roundup of migrant families that have received deportation orders, an operation that is likely to begin with predawn raids in major U.S. cities on Sunday, according to three U.S. officials with knowledge of the plans.

The “family op,” as it is referred to at ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, is slated to target up to 2,000 families in as many as 10 U.S. cities, including Houston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and other major immigration destinations, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the law enforcement operation.

Acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan has been urging ICE, an agency within his department, to conduct a narrower, more targeted operation that would seek to detain a group of about 150 families that were provided with attorneys but dropped out of the legal process and absconded.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Trump’s move, saying a “delay is welcome.”

“Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform,” she added.

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar responded that the President’s “heart is in the right place,” “But this will likely result in nothing but bluster from Democrats for amnesty amnesty amnesty with no immigration reforms.”

In March, Breitbart reported there are 1.7 million Central Americans and Mexicans in the U.S. with deportation orders.

Despite the rhetoric, the Trump administration has still not matched the Obama administration deportation levels.

Axios reports:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported more immigrants this fiscal year than any full fiscal year of Donald Trump’s presidency, but it has yet to reach Barack Obama’s early deportation levels, according to new internal Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by Axios.

“Under the Obama administration, total ICE deportations were above 385,000 each year in fiscal years 2009-2011, and hit a high of 409,849 in fiscal 2012,” according to Axios. There have been 282,242 deportations so far this fiscal year, which ends September 30.