Immigration officials announced a historic enforcement milestone Thursday, reporting that ICE arrests and deportations reached record highs in fiscal year 2026. Arrests alone exceeded the combined total from the Biden administration’s final three years, while deportations came within a few thousand of that combined figure.
“Fiscal Year 2026 saw the highest number of ICE deportations and arrests for any year in ICE’s history,” Secretary Markwayne Mullin of the Department of Homeland Security said.
“The total number of ICE arrests in Fiscal Year 2026 was more than all three full fiscal years under Biden combined, as the patriots of ICE work around the clock to make America safe again. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, ICE has been unleashed to target and remove illegal aliens so that we can save American lives.”
ICE officials reported more than 491,000 arrests during the fiscal year, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests—a record for the agency.
FILE — DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin attributed ICE’s record arrest and deportation numbers to Trump’s leadership, saying the agency had been “unleashed.” (Cliff Owen)
The agency also deported 483,200 people in fiscal 2026, surpassing its previous record of 442,640 set the year before.
According to DHS, total arrests were nearly 65,000 higher than the combined figures recorded in fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024 under the Biden administration.
Deportations, meanwhile, fell fewer than 3,000 short of the combined total from Biden’s three full fiscal years, the department said.
FILE — DHS said the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown pushed ICE arrests and deportations to historic levels in fiscal 2026. (Christian Torres/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
This year’s arrests were more than six times the number recorded during former President Joe Biden’s first fiscal year in office.
Deportations were more than eight times higher than they were during that same period.
August 2026 produced another record, with 50,925 arrests—the highest monthly total in ICE history, Mullin said.
The elevated pace continued in September, when ICE recorded more than 48,000 arrests. That represented an increase of more than 300% over the previous administration’s average for the month.
FILE — DHS said ICE deported 483,200 people in fiscal 2026, nearly equaling the combined total from Biden’s final three full fiscal years. (REUTERS/Carielle Doe)
DHS said more than 3 million migrants have left the United States under Trump’s leadership.
By October, the administration had deported nearly 1.2 million illegal aliens and arrested more than 1.25 million, according to the department.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the brave men and women of ICE, who just broke more historic records,” Mullin said.