Federal immigration enforcement hit unprecedented levels this summer as ICE agents recorded the highest monthly arrest totals in the agency’s history for three consecutive months. In August alone agents detained nearly 51,000 people nationwide topping July’s then-record figure of just over 50,000.
The surge marks a significant shift in strategy away from the high-profile militarized operations that drew widespread protests earlier in the year. Agents have instead focused on street-level enforcement working alongside local jails and county law enforcement agencies while also conducting arrests at airports courthouses and scheduled ICE check-in appointments.
Texas bore the heaviest impact of any state in the country. More than 10,000 people were arrested in Texas during July alone nearly double the roughly 5,800 recorded in the same month the previous year. Florida came in second with more than 5,500 arrests in July compared to fewer than 2,000 in July of last year.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin credited the agency’s workforce for the milestone numbers. He said the hard-working men and women of DHS continue to break records as they defend the homeland and protect the American people noting that ICE had now set a new single-month record for the third straight month with nearly 51,000 arrests.
The increases come after ICE field offices received a mandate to arrest 2,000 people per day nationally. Agents averaged around 1,600 daily arrests in August up significantly from approximately 1,000 per day before the directive was issued. Officials described the elevated pace as a new normal the agency intends to sustain.
A striking shift in the profile of those being arrested has also emerged from the data. According to the Deportation Data Project a research initiative through UC Berkeley and UCLA nearly 74 percent of people arrested by ICE in July had no criminal convictions. That figure was roughly 63 percent during the same period last year.
Juan Proano the CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens said arrests this summer have continued to increase basically unabated. His organization has been among the most vocal critics of the expanding enforcement operations.
Major raids have swept through cities including Houston Memphis New York San Francisco and Atlanta. A single operation in Memphis last month resulted in 120 arrests. Arrest numbers also climbed in Democratic-leaning states such as California New York and New Jersey as the enforcement push extended well beyond traditionally targeted regions.