The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded 50,925 arrests in August 2026, marking the third consecutive monthly record, according to an investigation by The Guardian that documents how the agency radically transformed its operational methods following the public backlash generated by large raids the previous year.
The tactical shift responds to a political crisis that erupted in 2025, when armored military vehicles patrolled residential neighborhoods and masked agents surveyed parks and schools. The breaking point was the death of two American citizens during a massive operation in Minneapolis. Under pressure, President Donald Trump acknowledged in February that they needed to change the approach: "I learned that perhaps we could use a softer touch," he said.
The new Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, committed during his confirmation hearing in the Senate to reduce the media profile of operations. "My goal in six months is that we are not the main news every day," he stated. Six months later, ICE operates almost invisibly but with greater reach than ever.
Las tácticas de ICE siguen evolucionando y los arrestos no se detienen. Mantente informado sobre todo lo que ocurre con las operaciones migratorias, deportaciones y tus derechos en nuestra sección de
Detentions are now happening in everyday settings: while someone takes out the trash, waits for the school bus, fills up on gas, or goes to work. A Cuban in Miami was arrested right in front of his house at that very moment. An Ecuadorian father was apprehended in Danbury, Connecticut, just after saying goodbye to his six-year-old son at the bus stop. "Detentions occur in an instant: we are talking about about 90 seconds from the moment ICE appears to when the person is taken away in a vehicle," explained Willis, an immigration attorney quoted by The Guardian.
The engine of this expansion is the 287(g) agreements, which authorize local and state police to act as immigration agents. As of September 15, ICE had signed more than 2,500 of these agreements. In July, local and state agencies carried out 13% of the arrests related to ICE, compared to less than 5% a year earlier. Willis describes it this way: "The administration essentially manages to conceal a multiplied ICE presence not only in unmarked vehicles and behind masks but also within local police departments through the 287(g) program. I call it the invisibility of immigration control."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) more than doubled its workforce this year, surpassing 22,000 agents and employees, backed by 75 billion dollars approved by Congress. Monthly arrests increased from 39,563 in June to 49,571 in July and then to 50,925 in August.
However, the increase in arrests has not resulted in more deportations. Effective expulsions remain around 1,200 people per day, almost the same as in May, when there were 19,000 fewer arrests per month. The obstacles are legal, logistical, and diplomatic: a shortage of operational planes, receiving countries that impose restrictions, and thousands of detainees with active cases in court.
The profile of those arrested has also changed: in July, less than a quarter had criminal records, compared to nearly 60% in December 2024. This trend has led to serious cases: attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch from Austin reported that her client Brian José Morales García, born in Denver, was deported to Mexico despite claiming to be a U.S. citizen. "We are seeing a lot of racial profiling," she warned.
Violence has not disappeared either. On September 20, an ICE agent shot the Venezuelan Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez in Austin while he was working as a delivery driver; he was discharged with a bullet lodged near his spine and taken into custody. Four days later, a Guatemalan man died in a traffic accident in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while fleeing from federal agents.
For the Cuban community, the impact has been particularly severe: the detentions of Cubans increased by 463% between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2026, and more than 42,000 Cubans have pending final deportation orders in the United States.
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