ICE arrests top 100,000 under Trump as daily rates surge: Report
Nearly five months into President Donald Trump’s second term in office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reached 100,000 arrests, according to internal data obtained by CBS News. The increased rate of detainments comes as immigration enforcement expands beyond those with criminal records that ICE had initially pursued.
ICE agents made more than 2,000 arrests on Tuesday, June 3, and Wednesday, June 4, much higher than the daily average of 660 arrests during the first 100 days of Trump’s return to office.
The number of daily arrests has more than tripled compared to the final year of former President Joe Biden’s term. ICE averaged about 300 arrests per day during Biden’s last year in office.
Push for higher arrest numbers
Trump aide Stephen Miller has said the agency needs to arrest more people living in the country illegally.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day,” Miller said while appearing on Fox News on May 28. “And President Trump is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every single day so we can get all the Biden illegals that were flooded into our country for four years out of our country.”
ICE agents have significantly ramped up arrests under the Trump administration.
Shift in enforcement philosophy
There’s been a major shift in enforcement philosophy under Trump, who promised mass deportations. Trump is pushing for mass enforcement, targeting nearly anyone without legal status, regardless of how long they’ve been in the U.S. or whether they’ve committed a crime.
ICE is arresting migrants and asylum-seekers at court hearings and check-in appointments, and also conducting workplace raids.
They’re also detaining non-criminal migrants who are living in the U.S. without legal immigration status.
Case of Marcelo Gomes da Silva sparks outcry
Last weekend, ICE arrested Marcelo Gomes da Silva, 18, a high school student in Milford, Massachusetts, who was on his way to volleyball practice when he was detained. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey denounced Gomes’ arrest and called for his release.
“ICE admits Marcelo doesn’t have a criminal background. He’s not even a threat,” Gov. Healey said in a video posted to her official X account. “He wasn’t even their target; they admit that. So they need to let him go. Marcelo belongs in school, not in a detention center.”
A federal immigration judge ordered Gomes to be released from ICE detention on bail on Thursday, June 5.
Judge orders protections for CECOT deportees
The Trump administration also invoked the Alien Enemies Act to justify deporting migrants to CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, mainly used for gang members and accused terrorists.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the government must provide these people with habeas relief, or a chance to legally challenge their detention.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
