Immigration arrests carried out by U.S. authorities under the Trump administration have reached record levels, with a large share of detainees having no criminal record, according to data cited by a deportation monitoring group.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers recorded back-to-back months of arrests above 50,000 for the second Trump administration, with more than 50,000 people taken into custody in July and August, according to figures obtained by the Deportation Data Project.

Arrests Include People With No Criminal Background

The figures challenge a long-standing claim by the administration that it is focusing removals on those described as having criminal histories.

Data show that 55% of people arrested had no prior interaction with law enforcement. Another 24% had faced charges but were never convicted, the Deportation Data Project said.

Several Republicans in Congress have raised concerns about the approach, warning against treating people who have not been convicted of crimes the same as those who have.

Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida, said the administration should not “conflate the gangster with the gardener, the nanny with the narco”, pointing to the size of the foreign-born population in her district.

Quota Pressure Draws Criticism

Under the strategy described by immigration advocates, enforcement has expanded beyond people described as public-safety threats to include others who are already known to authorities and who have immigration cases under way.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said the pattern shows the administration is moving “towards everybody else” to meet quotas set by the White House.

Reichlin-Melnick said authorities have increasingly targeted people with pending asylum claims or seeking to adjust status, including those already engaged with immigration processing. He argued some of those detainees are among the easiest to arrest because authorities already know where they live and who they are.

DHS Criminality Figures Disputed

The Department of Homeland Security has used social media to say that 70% of people arrested by ICE have criminal records. Reichlin-Melnick said that figure is not supported by the department’s own data.

“He [s]aid the 70 percent figure has not been true since May of 2025,” he said, adding that DHS had continued to use the number for at least a year while releasing data showing it was inaccurate.

DHS messaging has also varied in public remarks, with leaders appearing to step back from emphasising criminal histories. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in an appearance earlier this week that the administration’s position is to pursue people who cross the border illegally regardless of criminal background, describing it as the role of the department to hunt them down and send them back.

Border czar Tom Homan also addressed the issue in July, saying that “just over half” of those arrested are criminals, adding that the remaining group are noncriminals and that resources provided through a reconciliation bill could affect the figures.

Enforcement Tactics Shift, Leaving People Detained

Advocates cited a mix of enforcement tactics as part of the increase. David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said street arrests have been combined with other elements including immigration court interactions, check-ins and arrests at airports. He also said Mullin arrived as funding and staffing levels were increasing, including large amounts of overtime.

Critics in Congress linked the approach to a change in tone after highly publicised raids carried out under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Representative Pramila Jayapal, the top Democrat on a House Judiciary immigration subcommittee, said the administration continued the strategy “quietly” after backlash to the louder version, arguing it has become focused on the overall number of arrests.

Bier said more people are being held without a final order of removal, leaving detainees in custody while they continue to fight their cases. He said that may make it harder to judge success based strictly on deportations following a final determination by an immigration judge.

Florida Republicans Call for Limits

Backlash has also emerged among some Republicans, including those in Florida where communities include naturalised citizens as well as residents without status.

Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said securing the border “had to happen” and has helped, but argued that some enforcement has gone too far and referenced his support for temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans and Haitians. Salazar said the administration has not accounted for the economic contribution made by people without criminal records who have worked in construction, hospitality, agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing for years, arguing they are needed for the economy.

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7 September 2026

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Read through the article. May have missed it but didn't see any mention that the people being deported are in the country ILLEGALLY. As for the TPS what pray tell does the T stand for. Trump got voted in with illegal immigration being a big part of his platform. He's doing what he said he'd do. He closed the border which Biden opened and now is undoing the mess the Biden administration created.

15 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Read through the article. May have missed it but didn't see any mention that the people being deported are in the country ILLEGALLY. As for the TPS what pray tell does the T stand for. Trump got voted in with illegal immigration being a big part of his platform. He's doing what he said he'd do. He closed the border which Biden opened and now is undoing the mess the Biden administration created.

Nonsense remember trump killed the legislation that fixed the problem so he would have something to run on…..remember??and he had the republican senator who hammered out the agreement censored remember???then he by DECREE!!!and by INTIMIDATION created the masked private police force to drag people out of courts homes places of work churches schools ect ect criminal or not???I rembember???I sure do!!I also remember his deficating on our constitution during this gestapo type behavior……don’t conflate that to support of illegal aliens especially the criminals because I don’t…..I do support actions within our constitutional laws and legislation.

Ive disagreed with Trumps solution to the immigration problem, glad to see he is finally moving

1 minute ago, Tug said:

Nonsense remember trump killed the legislation that fixed the problem so he would have something to run on…..remembe

what legislation: give us the terms of the legislation and how he killed it.

2 minutes ago, Tug said:

and by INTIMIDATION created the masked private police force to drag people out of courts homes places of work churches schools ect ect criminal or not

are you saying that ICE was not established in accordance with law.

3 minutes ago, Tug said:

I do support actions within our constitutional laws and legislation

are you alleging its unconstititutional to deport illegals?

7 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

give us the terms of the legislation and how he killed it.

Republicans blocked the bipartisan border security bill primarily due to political pressure from Donald Trump, concerns that the legislation fell short of hardline conservative demands, and a desire to keep the border issue active for the 2024 presidential election

12 minutes ago, Tug said:

masked private police force to drag people out of courts homes places of work churches schools

Leftist talking points. Courts it happens but if states handed over people in the country illegally rather than protecting them there would be no need. As for schools and churches please share any documented cases of this happening. As for "masked private police force" I'm shocked that you didn't include Nazi in there somewhere.

4 minutes ago, gravity101 said:

Republicans blocked the bipartisan border security bill primarily due to political pressure from Donald Trump, concerns that the legislation fell short of hardline conservative demands, and a desire to keep the border issue active for the 2024 presidential election

Bingo!fyi it’s a waisted effort replying to yagoda at best he pushes an agenda.that being said it can be entertaining as he does come up with some shall we say some entertaining phrases!!

2 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Leftist talking points. Courts it happens but if states handed over people in the country illegally rather than protecting them there would be no need. As for schools and churches please share any documented cases of this happening. As for "masked private police force" I'm shocked that you didn't include Nazi in there somewhere.

You certainly did include the Nazi ehh???

43 minutes ago, gravity101 said:

Republicans blocked the bipartisan border security bill primarily due to political pressure from Donald Trump, concerns that the legislation fell short of hardline conservative demands, and a desire to keep the border issue active for the 2024 presidential election

what was in the bill? did we need the bill to control the border?