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President Donald Trump listens as White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller speaks on his first 100 days at Macomb County Community College Sports Expo Center, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
The Trump administration has laid out its goal of arresting 3,000 illegal immigrants per day through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seeking to raise that number even higher as time goes on.
The announcement was made by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Wednesday, who promised on Fox News’ “Hannity” that President Donald Trump will “keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every single day.”
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On March 13, the administration boasted of 32,809 ICE arrests in the first 50 days of President Donald Trump’s return to office, which averages out to 656 arrests per day. The new goal of 3,000 arrests a day would be more than 4.5 times as many.
The declaration this week came as two top ICE officials left the agency.
ICE announced on Thursday that it was undergoing a “leadership realignment to support its increasing operational tempo,” adding that it “achieved its highest number of arrests in its history this week,” though without providing figures.
Kenneth Genalo, ICE’s acting executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations, is “retiring” after decades with the agency; he will be a special government employee moving forward. Robert Hammer, who was Homeland Security Investigations acting executive associate director, will take on “another critical leadership position within the agency’s headquarters,” ICE announced.
The shake-up at the agency includes 10 other new appointments. It comes after a reported meeting between Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week, described as “tense” by Axios, which cited two sources familiar with the meeting.
“Border Czar” Tom Homan reiterated the Trump administration’s objective during a Thursday Fox News “America’s Newsroom” appearance. “We’ve gotta increase these arrests and removals,” he said.
“The numbers are good, but I’m not satisfied. I haven’t been satisfied all year long,” Homan added.
Trump and his cabinet have made arresting and deporting illegal immigrants central to their agenda. This has not only sparked the ire of some lawmakers, according to April polling, but it has also resulted in lawsuits alleging many such actions go against the Constitution — as well as federal judges ruling that someone was “wrongfully” deported.
But the new statements from White House officials emphasize the administration is not only undeterred in its immigration pursuits — it is eager to ramp up the momentum.
