ICE Reaches 100,000 Arrests In Trump Admin As Agency Ramps Up Efforts To Meet Stephen Miller's Quotas

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reached over 100,000 arrests since the beginning of the Trump administration, CBS News reported on Friday.

The figure comes as the agency seeks to ramp up immigration enforcement actions following a leadership shakeup. ICE recorded over 2,000 arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday, a marked increase compared to the daily average of 660 during Trump's 100 days in office. It is almost seven times the roughly 300 arrests recorded during the Biden administration's last year in office.

NBC News reported this week that a significant amount of those arrested on Tuesday were enrolled in ICE's Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, which monitors non-detained migrants through ankle monitors, smartphone tracking, or scheduled check-ins. Several immigration attorneys reported that clients were summoned for unscheduled check-ins via mass texts and arrested upon arrival at ICE offices.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff reportedly demanded demanded the agency reach a daily target of 3,000 arrests in a meeting prior to the shakeup. Miller also threatened to fire 10% of ICE field office leaders with the lowest arrest counts.

Miller also dismissed arguments that agencies were focusing on migrants with serious criminal records. At one point, Miller reportedly questioned why agents were not conducting arrests at locations like "Home Depot" or "7-Eleven." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem supported the expanded enforcement goals.

Shortly after the meeting, two senior ICE officials, Enforcement and Removal Operations head Kenneth Genalo and Homeland Security Investigations chief Robert Hammer, left their posts. ICE subsequently launched "Operation At Large," deploying more than 5,000 agents from agencies including the FBI, DEA, IRS, and CBP.

Asked about the operation, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said "under Secretary (Kristi) Noem, we are delivering on President Trump's and the American people's mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens and make America safe."

The Trump administration is also asking Congress to give ICE billions in additional funds to expand detention capacity and hold 100,000 people at a given point. There were about 54,000 migrants detained across the country, CBS News reported.