ICE Arrests Decline Amid Backlash to June Immigration Raids

Arrests by U.S. immigration agents dropped by nearly 20% in July, amid the backlash to President Trump’s push to dramatically boost the number of detentions, according to new data that the Trump administration disputes.

Why it matters: The decline followed protests over the waves of raids by masked immigration agents in June — particularly in Southern California — that led to court orders that have hindered some Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, at least for now.

• Another factor in the falling arrest numbers: Trump’s own flip-flop on whether to pause raids targeting the agriculture and hospitality industries.
• Meanwhile, removals of immigrants from the U.S. rose in July to an average of 84 more per day compared to June. NBC News reported that more than 18,000 immigrants were removed in June.

By the numbers: ICE agents booked an average of 990 arrests per day from July 1 to July 27, according to data collected by the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).

• That was down from an average of 1,224 daily arrests in June — and well short of senior White House adviser Stephen Miller’s stated goal of at least 3,000 immigration arrests per day.

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Last month, immigrant advocacy groups filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of deliberately targeting brown-skinned individuals in Southern California as part of its crackdown.

• A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court’s order halting many of the tactics the administration has been using in immigration stops and arrests in Southern California.

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