US immigration police records highest monthly migrant arrests

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than 46,000 migrants facing deportation in July, marking the agency's highest monthly total during President Donald Trump's second term, CBS News reports, citing Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Preliminary DHS figures show those detained were accused of immigration violations such as entering the United States illegally or overstaying their visas.

The unpublished data indicate that ICE's summer enforcement surge intensified in July as the agency came under pressure from the White House to carry out 2,000 arrests per day nationwide. On average, 1,500 detainees entered ICE custody each day last month, although some had initially been arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The July total exceeded the roughly 43,000 arrests recorded in June, which had previously been the highest monthly figure of Trump's second term. As of this weekend, ICE was holding approximately 68,000 detainees, nearing the record of more than 70,000 set in January.

According to CBS News, the figures also show that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown has regained momentum after arrests declined earlier this year following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis that drew bipartisan criticism.

Although the administration has largely halted the large-scale immigration raids conducted in several Democratic-led cities last year, ICE has quietly increased arrests in recent weeks through operations at airports, traffic stops and communities across the country, aided by the deployment of newly hired agents.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin replaced Kristi Noem this spring with the stated goal of keeping ICE out of the headlines while advancing President Trump's pledge to oversee the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

The latest phase of the crackdown has reignited debate over ICE's tactics. Last month, ICE officers fatally shot two migrants — Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine — during attempted traffic stops, prompting local and national outrage.

The shootings led ICE to temporarily suspend most vehicle stops, but the pause lasted only 24 hours before Trump intervened to reverse the decision. Federal and local investigations into both incidents remain ongoing.

Recent arrests by plainclothes ICE officers near airport boarding gates and check-in counters have also sparked controversy, with bystanders filming several incidents that later went viral online. The operations have been facilitated by expanded cooperation between ICE and the Transportation Security Administration, which has provided information on non-citizen travellers, including those whose immigration status has expired.

The Trump administration has also broadened the categories of migrants eligible for arrest and deportation, most recently ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 Haitian migrants. According to officials and advocates, some Haitians in Ohio have begun receiving notices ordering them to report to local ICE offices, raising concerns in communities such as Springfield.

In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security said: "In President Trump's first year back in office, more than 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations. As of July 12, we have now deported over 985,000 illegal aliens and arrested over 1 million illegal aliens."

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov