The agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made 49,571 arrests of immigrants who were illegally in the country during July, marking the highest monthly level recorded during the second term of President Donald Trump. The figure reflects a significant acceleration of the immigration enforcement strategy driven by the Republican administration.
The arrests in July represented a 15% increase compared to the 43,021 recorded in June and were approximately 70% higher than the 29,241 counted in February. The increase comes as the Trump administration seeks to fulfill its electoral promise to intensify deportations and strengthen controls against those who remain illegally in the United States.
The strengthening of cooperation between ICE and state and local authorities appears to be one of the main factors behind the increase. In particular, participation in the 287(g) program, which allows certain state and local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with federal authorities on immigration law enforcement tasks, has grown considerably.
The Donald Trump administration achieved a massive increase in the number of deportations in July, setting a new record
When Trump began his second term, about 135 local agencies were participating in the program. Currently, that number is said to have increased to over 1,400, reflecting a substantial expansion of cooperation between federal authorities and local law enforcement.
The role of local agencies also became more evident during July. According to some media reports, state and local authorities helped ICE detain approximately 6,500 immigrants in illegal status, equivalent to 13% of all arrests made during the month. A year earlier, local participation represented only 5% of the arrests recorded in July.
The data reflects, according to advocates of Trump's immigration policy, a significant change from previous years. The administration argues that immigration law enforcement should involve not only federal authorities but also local law enforcement agencies that have direct contact with communities.
The Trump administration claimed that it seeks to integrate local forces to provide greater support to federal security forces
In June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that the cumulative number of immigrants arrested during the fiscal year had reached 356,389. The increase in arrests occurs as the Trump administration seeks to expand immigration enforcement operations nationwide.
However, some critics of the administration believe that current levels are still far from the necessary scale to fully meet the promise of mass deportation. Mike Howell, president of the ''Oversight Project'', stated that the numbers of arrests and deportations remain too low compared to the number of immigrants who entered the country during the Democratic administration of Joe Biden.
For its part, the DHS firmly defended the course taken by the Trump administration. A spokesperson for the agency stated that the government had reversed Biden-era policies that allowed individuals who were illegally in the United States to move freely throughout the country.
The administration maintains that the goal is to ensure that those who are not authorized to remain in the United States cannot use the national transportation system to move freely, but rather, when appropriate, are expelled from the country or voluntarily leave the territory.
The government of Democrat Joe Biden was incredibly permissive regarding the entry of thousands of illegal immigrants
