Daily immigration arrests by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fell nearly 20% in July, averaging 990 per day compared to 1,224 in June, according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. The decline comes as the Trump administration faces court challenges, threats against agents, and continued protests over its mass deportation plans.
Despite the slowdown, removals from the country increased by an average of 84 people per day during the same period. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin attributed the drop to a series of California court rulings that restricted indiscriminate arrests, but emphasised that ICE continues to target “the worst of the worst,” including gang members and terrorists.
The figures remain far below the 3,000 daily arrests reportedly urged by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Miller told Fox News in June that agents had a target of a “minimum” of 3,000 arrests a day, though the administration has since stated in court that no formal quota exists.
Mass raids have still caused disruption. On July 10, agents arrested at least 361 people at two legal cannabis farms in Southern California. During the operation, a man died after falling from a greenhouse, and hundreds of protesters clashed with immigration agents. George Retes, a US Army veteran and citizen working as a security guard, was among those detained. He was later released without charge and plans to sue, saying, “No one deserves to be treated this way.”
Enforcement tactics vary between states. In Republican-led states, about 60% of arrests occur in prisons and jails, while in Democratic-led states, 70% take place in the wider community, according to CNN. Advocates say this leads to harsher enforcement in liberal areas. Iván Espinoza-Madrigal of Lawyers for Civil Rights described it as “a deliberate federal strategy to punish immigrant-friendly states.”
The Department of Homeland Security claims assaults against agents have increased by 830%, though detailed evidence has not been provided. Immigration operations are expected to expand significantly with $170 billion in funding from the administration’s One Big, Beautiful Bill.
