Archive · 29 Sep 2026
ICE Quiet Arrests Reach Record High Across the United States
Immigration officers in the United States made more arrests in July than in any other month recorded.
They are often making quick arrests in places such as airports, petrol stations and traffic stops.
Big raids with armored vehicles have become less common.
Local police are increasingly helping immigration officers.
Lawyers say this can make it difficult for people to know who is being arrested and why.
They also say officers sometimes make mistakes about a person’s immigration status.
The government says it wants people without legal status to leave the country rather than fly within it.
Some temporary protections and immigration rules have also changed, allowing more people to face detention or removal.
ICE made nearly 50,000 arrests in July, the highest monthly total on record.
Large raids have largely been replaced by brief arrests at traffic stops, airports, shops and petrol stations.
ICE has expanded its workforce to more than 22,000 officers and staff, while signing over 2,500 local-police agreements.
Lawyers say low-profile enforcement makes arrests harder to detect and increases the risk of mistakes.
The government has widened potential enforcement by changing protections, removal procedures and some visa and residency rules.
- Who
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, local police and people targeted by immigration enforcement.
- What
- ICE arrests reached a record monthly high while enforcement shifted toward shorter, less visible arrests.
- When
- ICE made nearly 50,000 arrests in July; other cited developments occurred through September 15.
- Where
- Across the United States, including airports, traffic stops, shops, petrol stations and a Memphis bar.
- Why
- The administration changed enforcement tactics, expanded staffing and local-police cooperation, and broadened the groups potentially subject to detention or removal.
Enforcement Critics and Lawyers
Government Enforcement Position
Visibility of arrests
Enforcement Critics and Lawyers
Lawyers say replacing large raids with quick, low-profile arrests makes immigration enforcement harder to see and makes people harder to protect.
Government Enforcement Position
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he wanted the agency out of the news every day, and large raids and armored-vehicle operations have mostly stopped.
Use of local police
Enforcement Critics and Lawyers
Attorneys argue local officers may misread immigration rules, citing a case in which a U.S. citizen was deported before proving his citizenship.
Government Enforcement Position
The government has expanded cooperation with local police and sheriffs through more than 2,500 287(g) agreements.
Enforcement priorities
Enforcement Critics and Lawyers
Lawyers and critics point to arrests of people at workplaces, schools, homes and public places, as well as expanded detention and removal rules.
Government Enforcement Position
The Department of Homeland Security said it wants people in the country illegally to fly only when leaving it, while the administration has increased staffing and enforcement capacity.
- Record arrests
- Nearly 50,000 ICE arrests were reported in July, the highest monthly figure on record.
- ICE workforce
- The agency grew to more than 22,000 officers and staff after more than doubling its workforce this year.
- Local cooperation
- ICE had signed more than 2,500 287(g) agreements as of September 15.
- Prior convictions
- Forty-six percent of people held since Donald Trump took office had a prior criminal conviction.
- Memphis detentions
- A bar operation on August 29 resulted in 120 people being detained over their immigration status.
- Removal orders
- Removal orders issued in absentia rose 55% in June to 53,808.
- Third-country removals
- More than 23,000 people were sent during the past year to countries where they had no ties.