Immigration enforcement has skyrocketed under President Donald J. Trump’s second-term leadership, with newly released federal data revealing that arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have more than doubled in 38 states since Trump returned to the White House in January.

The aggressive resurgence in enforcement is no accident. The surge accelerated sharply after a directive from top Trump immigration adviser Stephen Miller, who instructed ICE agents to "dramatically intensify" efforts to remove illegal immigrants from the country. The result: tens of thousands of apprehensions in just a few months — and the numbers continue climbing.

States with large immigrant populations such as Florida and Texas have seen the brunt of ICE activity, despite the fact that both were already heavily policed under the Biden administration. According to the data reviewed by The New York Times, Texas alone has seen more than 20,000 arrests since January 20, while the ICE field office overseeing Florida and Puerto Rico has booked over 11,000.

And it’s not just border states feeling the impact. Red states across the South and West — including Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia — have seen the fastest increases relative to immigrant population size, reflecting a targeted enforcement strategy aligned with President Trump’s immigration-first policy approach.

Meanwhile, liberal strongholds like New York and New Jersey — long shielded by sanctuary policies — have seen only modest rises in enforcement. That disparity lays bare the difference between jurisdictions cooperating with federal law enforcement and those still obstructing it.

The data, obtained through a FOIA lawsuit filed by UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project, provides the clearest picture yet of ICE’s revitalized efforts under Trump’s leadership. According to the report, ICE is now averaging 666 arrests per day, more than double the daily average under Biden, which hovered below 300. By June, daily arrests had topped 1,100, and that momentum is expected to build.

Still, the agency has a long road to meet the ambitious goals laid out by Miller. In a closed-door meeting in May, Miller reportedly set a daily target of 3,000 arrests — a benchmark aimed at restoring border discipline and internal enforcement to pre-Obama levels.

To accelerate progress, ICE is deploying tougher tactics, including arresting individuals during routine check-ins and at immigration court hearings. Many of these detainees are being fast-tracked for deportation through expedited removal, a process that bypasses court hearings and strips protections previously available under Biden-era policies.

Back in late 2024, only 5% of arrests ended in expedited removal. Today, that figure has tripled to 15%, following the administration’s rollback of bureaucratic shields that had allowed many illegal immigrants to remain in legal limbo.

And the impact is nationwide. In 21 states and Washington, D.C., ICE has tripled its arrest rate compared to 2024. One of the most striking examples is Idaho, where just 77 arrests were recorded last year — but over 300 have occurred in just the first half of 2025.

Republicans have long warned that Democrats use mass illegal immigration to inflate population counts in blue states — artificially preserving congressional power and Electoral College influence — while working toward long-term amnesty to expand their voter base. Trump’s mass deportation mandate is a direct challenge to that scheme, and the latest arrest data shows his administration is delivering.

As President Trump continues to fulfill his promise to restore law and order at the border and beyond, the results speak for themselves: enforcement is back, ICE is unshackled, and America’s immigration laws are being enforced once again.