Miller and Noem Order ICE to Triple Daily Arrests

In late May 2025, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem directed ICE to raise its daily arrest target to 3,000 people, roughly triple the agency's earlier daily average of about 660. Reports described Miller confronting ICE officials aggressively over the shortfall, with some officials feeling their jobs were at risk if the quota was not met.

Field offices faced pressure to prioritize volume and speed, with reduced attention to individualized discretion or humanitarian circumstances. Former DHS officials and immigrant advocacy groups warned the approach would sweep up nonviolent immigrants with long community ties rather than focusing on public-safety threats.

The directive marked an escalation from earlier-year quotas of 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day and fits a broader administration pattern of measuring immigration enforcement success by raw numbers. Civil rights groups raised concerns about racial profiling and due-process shortcuts as arrests accelerated nationwide.