WASHINGTON — Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 10,000 arrests over just five days at the end of June, signaling a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s push to carry out mass deportations across the country.
The figures came from a source with knowledge of the data who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not been officially released to the public. The five-day window ran from Friday through Tuesday, averaging approximately 2,000 arrests each day. It was not disclosed where the arrests occurred.
The New York Times was first to report on the arrest spike.
The Department of Homeland Security responded with a statement: “Since Day One, DHS law enforcement has been delivering on President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Our message is clear: if you come to our country illegally, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”
The surge in arrests is accompanied by a rise in detention numbers. The population held in ICE facilities climbed to around 39,000 in June, up from roughly 30,000 per month since February, according to information obtained by The Associated Press.
Because ICE does not make its arrest data publicly available, direct comparisons across time periods are difficult. However, data provided to UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project and reviewed by the AP shows that 2,000 arrests per day would represent a significant jump. December saw the highest daily arrest average since Trump took office, at 1,283 per day. In January, during a major enforcement operation in Minneapolis and surrounding areas, the national daily average was about 1,212 arrests.
The Minneapolis operation proved to be a turning point. Two American citizens were killed by immigration officers while protesting the crackdown there, prompting Border Czar Tom Homan to begin reducing the number of officers deployed in Minnesota. The administration also began stepping back from the type of high-visibility enforcement operations that had been a hallmark of then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure.
Under Noem, operations led by former Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino were frequently marked by confrontations between immigration officers and protesters — scenes that were often shared prominently on the department’s social media pages.
Arrests dropped to an average of 1,057 per day in February, according to the Deportation Data Project, which obtained the ICE data through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. That data only extends through February.
After Noem was removed from her post, her replacement as Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, indicated he would pursue a lower-profile style of enforcement and expressed a desire to keep the department out of the news cycle. Still, Mullin was expected to continue advancing President Trump’s immigration priorities.
