The number of immigrants detained by US authorities during President Donald Trump’s term reached its highest level in July, with more than 50,000 arrests, as confirmed to EFE by a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The increase comes amid pressure from the Republican Administration to increase immigration detentions, with the goal of reaching 2,000 arrests per day, and an expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, including airport detentions.
In June, the Republican government reported, in turn, around 43,000 arrests, also a record number during this Administration, added the official, who asked not to be identified.
These data, which have not yet been officially published, reveal an increase in ICE operations, despite criticism from the opposition and human rights organizations of the Government’s tactics, especially after two people were shot dead by immigration agents in July.
Speaking to reporters after the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado, in Texas, and Joan Sebastián Guerrero, in Maine, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said his agency “will intensify pressure on the streets.”
«I do not choose which laws to apply; I enforce the laws of our country. That means I will enforce them both within our own agency and among criminals on the streets. “That is my guarantee,” added the secretary.
However, the majority of people detained by immigration authorities in the US during the Republican government do not have criminal records, according to studies, which contradicts the Administration’s narrative that authorities pursue “criminals” and “the worst of the worst.”
According to a study published last week by the University of Colorado at Boulder, only 34% of people arrested by ICE since January 2025, when Trump took office, had been convicted of a crime.
Since Trump came to power, there have also been at least 30 incidents in which ICE agents shot at civilians, leaving eight dead, according to data from The Trace portal.
In detention centers, about 55 people have died in ICE custody, 24 of them so far in 2026.
In this context, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called in June for an “independent” investigation into the deaths at the hands of ICE and criticized what he considers a “lack of transparency” on the part of the US around these incidents.
