The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 49,571 individuals in July 2026, the highest monthly figure since Donald Trump began his second term, according to data analyzed by Associated Press based on information provided by ICE to the Deportation Data Project, a joint academic initiative of UC Berkeley and UCLA.
The number represents a 15% increase compared to the 43,021 arrests in June and a 70% increase from the 29,241 in February, when operations had declined following two fatal shootings in Minnesota in January that sparked protests and a strong Democratic legislative response.
A change of tactics, not of objectives
Far from halting its immigration agenda, the Trump administration altered its strategy: it abandoned the spectacular operations that characterized the early months of its second term—agents descending via rappel from helicopters, chases filmed for social media in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis—and opted for more discreet yet equally massive detentions.
The new approach includes traffic controls, increased collaboration with state and local police through the 287(g) agreements, and the addition of new categories of individuals to be deported, such as Haitians who have had their deportation protections revoked.
Mark Krikorian from the Center for Immigration Studies was straightforward in assessing the shift: "It did not stop the enforcement of the law. They changed tactics and, if anything, are becoming more effective."
Krikorian himself had noted that the previous tactics, under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, were "provoking a lot of ordinary people, causing backlash even among those who agreed with the idea of enforcing immigration law."
Texas and Florida, epicenters of the arrests
Texas and Florida accounted for nearly 20,000 arrests in July, highlighting the central role both states have taken in the agenda of mass deportations.
Both have deepened their cooperation with ICE through the 287(g) agreements, which allow local law enforcement to act as extensions of the federal agency.
State and local police departments recorded 6,500 arrests that month —13% of the total— compared to less than 5% a year earlier.
An emblematic case occurred in Key West: a 36-year-old Haitian asylum seeker who had been in the country since 2017, when he fled from death threats, was arrested by local police and handed over to ICE during the week of August 18.
He worked as a cook and supervisor at the Half Shell Raw Bar restaurant and was the primary financial support for his family.
The manager of the establishment, Bobby Kuchinsky, described him this way: "He was an excellent worker, learned very quickly, and never had problems with the law. He was a good guy, a family man."
Most of those arrested had no criminal record
The administration has repeatedly stated that its operations target individuals who have committed crimes in the United States.
However, the data contradicts that argument: more than half of those arrested in July had no convictions or pending criminal charges, and fewer than a quarter had been convicted of any crime.
In addition, half of the arrests were “non-custodial”: ICE arrested individuals directly in the community, not in jails or under prior police custody, which includes people with valid work permits and pending asylum applications.
Patricia Quiñonez, a journalist from Utahzolanos, a media outlet that covers the Venezuelan immigrant community in Utah, described how traffic controls operate:
"They can detain you for any reason; for example, if you don't have a driver's license, if your vehicle's registration is expired, or if your windows are tinted more than allowed. From there, they take advantage of the situation and ask you about immigration."
The impact on the Cuban community
The Cuban community has been particularly affected by the tightening of migration policies.
According to an analysis by the Cato Institute, the detentions of Cubans by ICE increased by 463% between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2026.
The ICE office in Miami—covering Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands—recorded over 41,000 arrests since January 2025, averaging 120 detentions per day.
The economic impact of mass deportations also concerns analysts: a recent study warns about the cost that deportations impose on consumers, with increases of up to 32.1% in lettuce and 15.4% in new housing in the Northeast, linked to the reduction of the immigrant workforce.
The Deportation Data Project has become one of the few independent sources for tracking the true scale of operations, after the Department of Homeland Security stopped publishing data on immigration enforcement at the beginning of Trump's second term.
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