Washington: President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was delaying a planned immigration sweep for two weeks to allow time for his Republican Party and opposition Democrats to find a political solution to the hot-button issue.

The mass round-up of as many as 2,000 families who had been served with deportation orders or failed to show up for court appointments was expected to begin in up to 10 US cities as soon as Sunday.

"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," he tweeted Saturday.

He added: "If not, Deportations start!"