ICE Arrested About 51,000 People in July, Its Highest Month Yet, Using Airport Sweeps and a National Forest Checkpoint

The Department of Homeland Security told Stateline that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested about 51,000 people in July, up from 43,000 in June and the highest monthly total of this administration. DHS said agents arrested an average of 20 to 40 people a day at airports by targeting passengers with expired visas. Agents also set up a checkpoint on July 26 near Wilson Creek in a North Carolina national forest, arresting 13 people.

The totals remain below the administration’s stated goal of 2,000 arrests a day, and arrests do not translate directly into removals. Statistics reviewed by Stateline through early July indicate fewer than a third of detainees have a criminal conviction and 40 percent have never been accused of anything beyond a non-criminal immigration violation, a gap from the administration’s stated focus on serious offenders.

About 2,000 detainees a month have been released after court-ordered bond hearings, and the Supreme Court is expected to consider the mandatory detention policy in its October term.