ICE arrests hit nearly 50,000 in July, highest of Trump's mass deportation agenda

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested nearly 50,000 people in July, the highest monthly total since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to new figures.

ICE made 49,571 arrests in July, up 15% from 43,021 in June and 70% from 29,241 in February, according to government data analysed by the Associated Press news agency.

The surge in immigration arrests comes as the Trump administration continues to pursue its mass deportation agenda, shifting from high-profile operations in major US cities to less visible enforcement actions.

As arrests have surged in recent weeks, boosted by increased hiring, ICE has detained people during traffic stops and increasingly relied on state and local law enforcement agencies to carry out immigration enforcement duties.

ICE officers have also begun arresting Haitians who have lost protections from deportation.

The new arrest numbers show the administration “didn’t stop the enforcement,” said Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for more immigration restrictions.

“They changed the tactics and are, if anything, being more effective.”

State partnerships become key to immigration enforcement

The number of arrests made by state and local police departments who partner with ICE has dramatically increased over the last year.

Those partnerships, which ICE has grown with the help of generous financial incentives for participating agencies, accounted for 6,500 arrests in July, or about 13% of the total, the data showed. A year earlier, they accounted for less than 5% of ICE’s monthly arrests.

Texas and Florida accounted for nearly 20,000 arrests in July, highlighting the growing role of the two states in the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.

Both states have expanded cooperation with ICE through so-called 287(g) agreements, which allow state and local law enforcement officers to carry out certain federal immigration enforcement duties.

Over half of immigrants arrested had no criminal history

The Trump administration has repeatedly said its immigration enforcement operations target people who have committed crimes in the US as part of efforts to improve public safety.

However, the data shows that more than half of those arrested in July had no criminal convictions and were not facing criminal charges. Less than a quarter had been convicted of a crime.

Half of the arrests were non-custodial, meaning ICE agents detained people in the community rather than taking custody of those already held in prisons or by local police.

At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump returned to office and launched his immigration crackdown.