ICE arrests rise as agency expands workforce and local partnerships
ICE has increased arrests across the U.S., using stealth tactics and collaborations with local law-enforcement agencies after a funding boost and staff expansion.
With a $75 billion boost from Congress, the Department of Homeland Security has more than doubled ICE personnel to over 22,000 and expanded its network of 287(g) agreements to more than 2,500, embedding immigration enforcement within local police, sheriffs and even wildlife agents. The agency’s raids have shifted from overt armored convoys to swift, low-profile actions that can detain a person within about 90 seconds, occurring in places like a Miami trash-pickup, a Connecticut school bus stop, and Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.
Violence has accompanied some arrests, such as the shooting of Venezuelan asylum seeker Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez in Austin and the death of a Guatemalan man in a crash while evading agents in Grand Rapids. ICE declined to comment on tactical changes but highlighted a continued emphasis on preventing illegal travel through airports. Partnerships with local law enforcement have enabled large sweeps, exemplified by a joint operation at the El Corralón bar in Memphis that resulted in 120 detentions. Critics warn that the broadened enforcement net may lead to arrests of individuals who possess legal status or documentation.
Why it matters
The expanded ICE enforcement strategy increases the risk of rapid, widespread detentions affecting many communities.
How this story developed
- Aug 13 San Antonio immigrants live in constant fear as ICE arrests surge
- Aug 25 ICE began using a $45 billion allocation to shift legal ownership of detention centers to the federal government.
- Sep 1 ICE placed a mother and her adult daughter into custody after a hospital intake following a car crash in Florida.
- Sep 1 ICE carried out a raid in Memphis that arrested more than 100 people, the largest raid in the city’s history.
- Sep 11 A judge dismissed the deportation case against the Andhra Pradesh woman, yet ICE continued to require her reporting.
- Sep 17 ICE agent Christian Castro turned himself in to Minnesota authorities on a warrant for assault after shooting a Venezuelan man, and faces both state and federal charges.
- Sep 17 Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar aired a campaign ad accusing President Donald Trump of overreaching on immigration enforcement.
- Sep 18 Salazar released a campaign advertisement that criticizes President Trump’s immigration enforcement.
- Sep 18 Castro entered a not‑guilty plea to the federal false‑statement charges.
- Sep 20 A man was wounded after being shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in North Austin, Texas, and taken to a local hospital.
- Sep 24 A federal appeals court has invalidated the Trump administration's policy of deporting migrants to third-party nations, mandating ICE to allow a genuine chance to contest danger.
- Sep 25 Salazar met with Trump on Face the Nation after releasing the immigration ad.
- Sep 27 The administration filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court seeking a stay of the First Circuit’s order.
- Sep 27 A federal judge scheduled a personal appearance for the man on September 30 and issued a temporary order halting his deportation.
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