ICE Arrests 100,000 Migrants in Two-Month Enforcement Surge
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested approximately 100,000 people in July and August as part of a record-breaking crackdown authorized by President Donald Trump.
The administration of Donald Trump has executed a massive immigration enforcement surge, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting approximately 50,000 people in both July and August 2026. This record-setting pace follows a June Supreme Court ruling that allowed the expiration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians, leaving over 1 million people vulnerable to deportation.
Supported by a $70 billion funding package approved by the Republican-controlled Congress, ICE has become the wealthiest law enforcement agency in U.S. history. The agency doubled its workforce by hiring over 12,000 people this year and expanded its infrastructure, including a $17 million detention warehouse in San Antonio. While tactics have shifted toward quieter operations at airports and traffic stops, the agency recently conducted the largest raid in the history of Memphis, Tennessee, arresting over 100 people.
Legal and humanitarian concerns have mounted as the Brookings Institution estimates more than 100,000 children have been separated from parents during this term. Federal judges have ruled that a July 2025 ICE directive denying bond hearings to many migrants is illegal, and another judge found the cancellation of visas for noncitizen students engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy to be unconstitutional.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that agents would not patrol polling places ahead of the November midterm elections, though he noted they may be deployed to serve warrants or respond to specific threats.
