U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set all-time records with nearly 475,000 administrative immigration arrests and 483,200 deportations in fiscal 2026, the government said Thursday.
The arrests shatter the previous high of 288,000 set during the Obama administration.
They’re also roughly three times the annual average under President Joe Biden from 2022 to 2024.
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Homeland Security said when combined with self-deportations and other types of expulsions, more than 3 million migrants have left the U.S. since President Trump retook office.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the brave men and women of ICE, who just broke more historic records,” Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.
The numbers were released at a time when ICE is facing the prospect of intense scrutiny by a Democrat-controlled Congress, with some lawmakers calling for the agency to be abolished altogether.
The White House had hoped to see arrests and deportations top a million a year.
ICE didn’t come close to that mark — and its rush to reach the numbers it did achieve came with some severe headwinds, particularly after Homeland Security officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens during confrontations in Minnesota in January.
Months later, Secretary Kristi Noem was ousted and Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Mullin, who took over with a promise of getting bigger numbers while keeping ICE out of the headlines.
DHS said ICE’s total immigration arrests in 2026 topped 491,000. Of those, 474,850 were administrative arrests, meaning strictly for deportation purposes.
In fiscal 2025, split between the Biden and Trump administrations, the figure was 239,890.
The lowest year on record was 2021, during the pandemic, when ICE recorded fewer than 75,000 administrative arrests.
Even during the first Trump administration, though, arrests never topped 160,000 a year.
Formal removals don’t always track with arrests, because ICE can also deport those arrested by other agencies such as the Border Patrol.
In fiscal year 2025, ICE recorded 442,640 removals. And in 2012, under President Obama, it recorded nearly 410,000.
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