ICE sets all-time records for deportations and arrests in fiscal 2026

Homeland Security says the agency carried out 483,200 deportations and more than 491,000 arrests, and Secretary Markwayne Mullin credited President Trump’s leadership.

By Alex National Affairs & Economic Correspondent Nov. 12, 2026 · WASHINGTON

Published at 9:30 PM Pacific on Nov. 12, 2026. Updated at 9:30 PM Pacific on Nov. 12, 2026.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set new records in fiscal year 2026. The agency carried out more deportations and made more arrests than in any other year in its history.

ICE carried out 483,200 deportations in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to the department. That beat the old record of 442,640, set in fiscal year 2025. The Associated Press reported that the new number was up 9 percent from that high.

The agency also made more than 491,000 immigration arrests during the year. The department said that number included nearly 475,000 administrative arrests. That is by far the highest total in ICE’s history.

The pace grew through the summer. ICE arrested 43,900 people in June, 50,208 in July and 50,925 in August. Each month set a one-month record when it was reported. In September, the agency made more than 48,000 arrests and carried out 44,000 removals. The department called it the best September in ICE’s history for arrests.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the brave men and women of ICE, who just broke more historic records,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement released with the numbers.

Mr. Mullin gave the president credit for the results. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, ICE has been unleashed to target and remove illegal aliens so that we can save American lives,” he said.

The department also said that more than 3 million migrants have left the United States under the president’s leadership. It said that as of October, nearly 1.2 million illegal aliens had been deported and more than 1.25 million had been arrested.

Along with the numbers, the department listed examples of people ICE arrested during the year. One was Raul Genesis Ortiz Moran, a Mexican national arrested in July. The department said he has been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated sexual battery in the alleged killing of a 2-year-old girl in Louisa County, Virginia. The department said he was turned over to ICE after local authorities worked with federal law enforcement.