In a significant development during Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported the arrest of nearly 50,000 migrants in July, marking a notable increase in enforcement activity.
ICE data shared with the University of California, Berkeley, revealed that immigration authorities made 49,571 arrests, representing a 15% uptick from the 43,021 detainments in June and a staggering 70% surge since February.
Texas and Florida were standout states, contributing nearly 20,000 detainees to July’s figures. According to PBS News, in the month preceding Trump’s return to the presidency, ICE arrests stood at around 8,000.
This spike in arrests is attributed to ICE’s aggressive recruitment efforts. The agency bolstered its workforce to approximately 29,000 by June, a significant rise from the 21,000 employees when Trump resumed office in January 2025, as reported by the New York Times.
Additionally, ICE has ramped up a program that enlists local police forces to assist in immigrant arrests. These collaborations now account for about 14% of ICE’s nationwide arrest operations.
Florida has credited the program with 15,000 arrests, while Texas says local officers have made another 10,000 on behalf of ICE. In smaller states, such as Wyoming and West Virginia, it accounts for more than half of all ICE arrests.
The latest data dump has seen arrests double in two Democratic-led states, New Mexico and New Jersey, even as both states passed laws earlier this year restricting state officials from cooperating with ICE. Sparsely populated states such as Vermont and Montana also saw their arrest numbers double.
Trump has poured billions in new funding into ICE through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and expanded contracts with firms such as Palantir to assist with immigration and border enforcement.
ICE arrested nearly 50,000 migrants in a single month, the highest total of his second term
The latest arrest numbers represent a 15 percent jump from 43,021 in June and a 70 percent increase since February
Trump nominated Mullin to lead Homeland Security just days after firing his predecessor, Kristi Noem
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin promised to shift the administration’s approach to mass deportations, telling senators at his confirmation hearing that he intended to focus on arresting criminal migrants, ‘the worse of the worse.’
However, most immigrants ICE arrested last month had no criminal charge or conviction, and fewer than 4 percent had a past violent conviction, according to the data.
The former Oklahoma senator took over from Kristi Noem, whom Trump fired roughly six weeks after DHS agents shot and killed two American citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
The data itself has become contested because Marc Rosenblum, the official in charge of publishing information on immigration arrests and deportations, resigned in late July after a decade at DHS, citing a ‘challenging and often hostile work environment.’
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His office grew to 45 people under Biden and has been downsized under the second Trump administration, according to multiple reports.
ICE released no detention or deportation figures between April 9 and July 24, missing multiple semimonthly reports that typically cover arrests, detentions and removals.
Trump began his second term with immigration as his strongest issue, riding four years of Republican fury over what the party called an open border under Joe Biden.
But 19 months into his second White House stint, his standing on the issue has collapsed.
An Economist/YouGov poll conducted in August found 53 percent disapprove, a net rating of minus 13, down from plus 11 at the start of his second term.
A separate AP survey released earlier this month put him at 39 percent approval and 58 percent disapproval on immigration.
Mullin has faced criticism from conservatives in recent months for not being tough enough on immigration enforcement, including from former Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino
Federal agents grab a woman from her car during the Minneapolis crackdown in January 2026
Mullin told senators at his confirmation hearing that he intended to focus only on arresting criminal migrants and deporting the ‘worse of the worse.’
Mullin has also drawn fire from the right, where hardliners accuse him of going soft on immigration enforcement.
Former Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino argued the secretary was undermining mass deportations during a recent interview with Tucker Carlson.
Right-wing figures such as, Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon, have also piled on after Mullin said the claim that immigrants steal American jobs holds in some industries but not all.
Immigration and the cost of living are among several issues dogging Republicans as they head into a midterm election that could cost them their majorities in both chambers of Congress.
The surge in ICE arrests comes after Border Patrol has recorded fewer than 10,000 encounters a month at the southwestern border since February 2025.
Their numbers represent the lowest totals in more than 25 years of available monthly data, according to a Pew Research Center.