The Palmer Raids, named for the United States Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, were conducted in 1919 by the United States Department of Justice as attempts to arrest and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States. A product of the Red Scare, the raids culminated in a series of actions across the country on January 2, 1920, during which more than 2700 people were taken into custody. Palmer Raids finally ceased in May, but not before a large number of aliens were deported to Russia.