U.S. immigration agents arrested more than 43,000 people in June, the highest monthly total since President Donald Trump returned to office and pledged to carry out a sweeping deportation campaign, according to newly released government data reviewed by The Guardian.
The figures show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 43,138 people during the month, marking a sharp escalation in the administration’s nationwide enforcement push. The number of people held in ICE detention has also increased, reaching 65,765 as of July 11.
That total remains below the January peak of 70,770 detainees, but it represents a rise of 5,450 people since early April, when ICE last provided a public count.
The data also shows that people with no criminal history continue to make up a large share of those in ICE custody. According to the report, the number of detained immigrants without any criminal record remains higher than the number of people with pending charges or convictions.
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Since January 2025, the Trump administration has deported more than 590,600 people, according to the latest figures.
The release offers one of the clearest looks yet at how the administration’s immigration strategy is expanding. While earlier operations often drew attention through large public raids and heavily armed deployments in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, advocates say recent enforcement appears to be happening more quietly and routinely.
Immigration attorneys and community groups report that arrests are increasingly taking place outside homes, at workplaces, during traffic stops and when immigrants appear for required check-ins with ICE. In some areas, local police, sheriffs and other agencies deputized by the federal government are also participating in immigration sweeps.
That quieter approach has made it harder for volunteer networks to track ICE activity. In several cities, community observers had previously watched for federal vehicles and warned residents when agents were nearby. Advocates now say arrests are often completed before witnesses or legal observers can arrive.
The increase comes after Congress approved a major funding surge for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and Customs and Border Protection. The reported $70 billion increase has allowed the administration to expand detention capacity, enforcement staffing and deportation operations.
The White House has reportedly pushed immigration officials toward a target of 2,000 arrests per day. The June total suggests that ICE has moved closer to that goal, though the daily average still appears to fall short of that threshold.
The rise in arrests is occurring amid renewed scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics. Communities have protested following the deaths of two men, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 26, during encounters involving immigration officials. In Salgado Araujo’s case, his family and witnesses have disputed parts of the government’s account, while officials maintain that an officer fired in self-defense.
Those cases have added pressure on federal agencies to release clearer information about use-of-force incidents, body-camera policies and the role of unmarked vehicles during immigration operations.
The data release itself has also drawn criticism. Since 2019, Congress has required ICE to publish arrest, detention and deportation data every two weeks. But until this latest release, the agency had not posted updated figures since early April. DHS blamed the delay on a series of government shutdowns.
For immigration advocates, the new numbers confirm what they say they have been seeing on the ground: a broad, steady increase in arrests that is less visible than the earlier high-profile raids but potentially wider in reach.
For supporters of the administration, the figures may be presented as evidence that Trump is fulfilling his promise to enforce immigration law more aggressively. For critics, the same numbers raise concerns about due process, family separation, detention conditions and whether people without criminal histories are being swept up in large numbers.
Why It Matters
The June arrest total shows that Trump’s immigration crackdown is no longer only a campaign message or a series of dramatic enforcement actions. It is becoming a sustained national operation affecting workplaces, neighborhoods, families and local law enforcement systems.
The fact that many detainees reportedly have no criminal history will likely intensify debate over whether the administration is focusing on public-safety threats or carrying out broad enforcement against undocumented immigrants regardless of background.
What Comes Next
ICE is expected to continue expanding arrests and detention operations as DHS uses its new funding. Lawmakers, immigration lawyers and advocacy groups are likely to demand more frequent data releases and greater transparency about who is being arrested, where operations are happening and how force is being used.
The next major test will be whether the administration keeps moving toward its daily arrest targets while facing legal challenges, local resistance and growing public scrutiny.
New ICE data shows June arrests reached their highest level since Trump returned to office.
BREAKING: New ICE data dump reveals the agency has carried out 356,389 deportations so far in Fiscal Year 2026, which began October 1st. That averages out to roughly 1,260 per day. ICE currently has 65,765 people in ICE detention, 39,576 of whom (60%) have criminal convictions or… pic.twitter.com/rKnrD3pGgq
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 20, 2026
