Immigration arrests have more than doubled across 38 U.S. states since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, reflecting an aggressive shift in enforcement priorities, according to newly released government data reviewed by The New York Times.
The sharp increase follows a directive from top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, who urged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to escalate nationwide efforts to detain and remove individuals in the country illegally. The most recent numbers show the agency has responded swiftly.
Since January 20, ICE has arrested over 20,000 individuals in Texas alone, despite a noticeable drop in border crossings. In Florida and Puerto Rico, ICE’s Miami field office has logged more than 11,000 arrests. These figures mark a significant departure from the more restrained enforcement patterns under the Biden administration, especially in states with large immigrant populations.
The enforcement surge is not evenly distributed. While red states such as Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and West Virginia have seen the steepest rise in ICE activity relative to population size, blue states like New Jersey and New York have experienced only modest increases. The report notes that ICE has made over 4,000 arrests in the four Southern states combined—up from 2,500 during the same time last year.
Idaho stands out as the state with the most dramatic jump. ICE made just 77 arrests there in 2024. So far in 2025, that number has climbed to over 300.
The newly disclosed figures come from data obtained by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The records focus on activity by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division and offer the most detailed picture to date of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement during its early months.
According to the data, ICE has averaged 666 arrests per day nationwide since January, compared to fewer than 300 per day under President Biden in 2024. In the first 10 days of June, ICE averaged over 1,100 arrests per day, the highest since the start of the year. That pace, however, remains below the ambitious internal target of 3,000 arrests per day reportedly set by Miller during a May meeting with ICE field leaders.
To reach these goals, ICE has implemented more assertive tactics. Agents are detaining individuals during routine check-ins and immigration court appearances. Many of those arrested are now subject to expedited removal—a streamlined deportation process that limits or eliminates judicial review. As of June, 15% of those arrested were placed in expedited removal, up from just 5% at the end of 2024.
Protests and confrontations have followed the increased enforcement, particularly in liberal-leaning cities such as Los Angeles. Tensions have flared between demonstrators, federal agents, and local police amid opposition to the crackdown.
The Biden-era limits on interior immigration enforcement have largely been dismantled, and the administration’s rollback of protections for newly arrived migrants has given ICE broader authority to act. Supporters of the Trump administration say the renewed approach is long overdue.
Conservatives have consistently argued that lax immigration enforcement is part of a broader Democratic strategy—aimed at bolstering population numbers in blue states for congressional representation and laying the groundwork for future amnesty and voting rights for undocumented immigrants. Trump’s hardline deportation agenda directly challenges those objectives and signals a return to stricter immigration control.