Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 49,571 people in July, the highest monthly total during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to federal data released to the Deportation Data Project by the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA. The average daily arrests reached nearly 1,600, marking a 15% increase from June and a 70% increase from February’s figures.
The surge follows a period of reduced enforcement in early 2025 after protests erupted over two fatal shootings involving ICE agents in Minneapolis. Arrests had stagnated in subsequent months before climbing sharply in June and July. Of those detained in July, more than half had no criminal record in the U.S., a shift from prior months where individuals with pending criminal charges or convictions were the primary targets.
Enforcement priorities and official statements
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson stated that ICE enforces immigration laws based solely on legal status, asserting that some individuals labeled as "non-criminals" may include terrorists, human rights abusers, or gang members without U.S. criminal records. The agency did not provide data on alleged crimes committed outside the U.S. when responding to queries from CBS News.
Detention and arrest breakdown
Of the 49,571 arrests in July, 41,786 resulted in detentions, averaging 1,347 per day. The figures represent a 22% increase over December 2024’s total of approximately 40,000 arrests. Before Trump’s second term began in January 2025, monthly arrests in late 2024 hovered around 8,000 to 8,600.
Policy shifts and leadership changes
The enforcement ramp-up coincides with leadership changes at DHS. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, confirmed earlier in 2025, has emphasized reducing high-profile operations to keep ICE out of the headlines. Under his predecessor, Kristi Noem, enforcement was marked by high-visibility crackdowns targeting specific demographics. The July data reflects a broader expansion of ICE’s reach, including a higher proportion of individuals with only civil immigration violations.
Violent crime convictions among detainees
Federal data indicates that individuals with violent criminal convictions—defined by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics—comprised about 6% of all bookings under the current administration and 4% of those arrested in July. Administration officials have repeatedly framed enforcement efforts as targeting "the worst of the worst," though the majority of arrests involve civil violations or non-violent offenses.
Context: Public backlash and operational adjustments
The July surge follows a funding standoff and leadership shake-up at DHS, as well as public criticism of prior enforcement actions. The Minneapolis shootings in January triggered protests and calls for reform from Democratic lawmakers, leading to a temporary reduction in arrests. The rebound in enforcement numbers suggests a strategic shift toward broader, higher-volume operations despite ongoing scrutiny.