ICE arrested a record number of people without criminal records in summer enforcement surge, new data shows

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a record high of more than 800 people without criminal records a day in July on average, new federal data shows. The surge in arrests comes as the White House pushes the agency to hit a target of 2,000 per day.

July is the first month in President Trump’s second term when people with only civil immigration violations — rather than pending criminal charges or convictions — made up more than half of those arrested. An average of more than 1,580 people were arrested each day in July, also a new high for the current administration.

Enforcement ramped up this summer after a drop following public backlash to the Department of Homeland Security’s operation in Minneapolis, a funding standoff and a shake-up in DHS leadership. But, as has been the case with ICE’s previous big city crackdowns, rising arrest totals come with spikes in community arrests of people without criminal records.

Administration officials have repeatedly claimed that their enforcement efforts are focused on “the worst of the worst” and often tout arrests of immigrants with violent criminal convictions. Those with convictions for violent crimes as defined by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics make up about 6% of all those booked into ICE detention under the current administration, and about 4% of those taken into custody in July, the data show.

ICE arrest surge driven by arrests of those without criminal records