Immigration and Customs Enforcement deports a record 483,200 individuals in fiscal year 2026, driven by President Donald Trump's expanded campaign and $75 billion in ICE funding. As newly appointed White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller sets weekly targets of 19,000 arrests, data reveals over half of recent deportees lack criminal records. President Trump acknowledges the crackdown was 'too tough' as Democrats prepare to assume control of Congress in January 2027.
Record ICE deportation and arrest figures
- ▪ICE recorded over 491,000 total immigration arrests in fiscal year 2026, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests for civil violations
- ▪DHS said ICE's fiscal year 2026 deportation total was 18% higher than fiscal year 2012 removals under President Barack Obama and 78% higher than fiscal year 2024 under President Joe Biden
- ▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record 483,200 people in fiscal year 2026, ending September 30, 2026, surpassing its previous annual record of 442,640 set in fiscal year 2025
Targeting and composition of ICE arrestees
- ▪The Department of Homeland Security cited specific deportees facing violent crime charges, including Mexican national Raul Genesis Ortiz Moran and Honduran national Soili Xiomara Aparicio-Santos, as examples of public safety threats
- ▪A July 2026 CBS News analysis revealed that over half of ICE arrests involved immigrants with no prior criminal convictions or pending criminal charges
- ▪A Migration Policy Institute study found that 20% of 980,000 deportations by ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection between January 2025 and July 2026 involved people with criminal convictions
Stephen Miller's role and arrest quotas
- ▪Stephen Miller spent two years driving Immigration and Customs Enforcement toward higher arrest quotas prior to becoming White House chief of staff
- ▪President Donald Trump appointed Stephen Miller, an architect of restrictive immigration policies, as White House chief of staff in November 2026
- ▪Following the 2026 midterm elections, ICE officials received instructions to target approximately 19,000 immigration arrests per week
Political backlash and proposed legislative response
- ▪President Donald Trump expressed interest in collaborating with congressional Democrats during the upcoming session to draft and pass immigration legislation
- ▪In a 60 Minutes interview, President Donald Trump described his administration's deportation enforcement campaign as 'too tough' regarding employed, tax-paying immigrants
- ▪According to CBS News exit polling from the 2026 midterm elections, 58% of voters felt the Trump administration's immigration enforcement went too far
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