In the first 50 days of the Trump Administration, ICE arrests more than 32,000 illegal immigrants

Senior officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported Tuesday in a recent call with reporters that domestic arrests of undocumented immigrants made by ICE during the first 50 days of the Trump Administration have surpassed the total recorded by the Biden Administration in all of fiscal year 2024.

According to the data presented, between Jan. 20 and March 10, ICE conducted 32,809 illegal immigrant arrests within the United States, a figure that is close to the approximately 33,300 domestic arrests reported by ICE during FY 2024 under the Biden Administration. Officials noted that, in the two days after March 10, Trump Administration arrests have already exceeded that total.

Of the nearly 33,000 arrests made so far under the Trump Administration, officials detailed that 14,111 are for convicted felons, 9,980 face pending charges and more than 8,000 have immigration violations for being in the country illegally. Currently, ICE is holding 47,600 undocumented immigrants in custody, a number that officials say has the agency "maxed out" on its detention facilities.

During the call, ICE and DHS representatives claimed that an internal review of their records revealed that the Biden Administration "cooked the books" and "falsely inflated" ICE arrest data.

According to authorities, the Democratic Administration categorized illegal immigrants who were processed by ICE and released inside the United States, rather than detained or deported, as domestic arrests. These cases, termed "pass through arrests" by ICE, included "tens of thousands" of individuals, including thousands of violent criminals and gang members, and were counted as internal arrests under a directive from previous DHS leadership.

ICE further noted that it is now working to locate and arrest these individuals released during the Biden Administration.

Analysts estimate that more than 11 million undocumented immigrants currently reside in the United States, Newsweek reported.

In a Jan. 29 statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the new Trump Administration considers all undocumented immigrants to be criminals “because they illegally broke our nation's laws.”

For his part, the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, expressed in a press conference that the agency has resumed its primary mission of arresting those who violate immigration laws. "We have returned ICE to its core mission, which is arresting people who violate our immigration law. Secretary Noman and I are changing the culture of ICE to one of action and accountability," Lyons said.