Data released Sept. 2 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finds that after breaking the threshold for the most illegal alien arrests in a single month in July 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surpassed that number again in August.
Arrests are continuing in September, with ICE deporting a number of criminal illegal aliens this month including convicted gang members and those convicted of, among other crimes, second-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of material/device for arson, second-degree robbery, possession of a controlled substance, grand theft vehicle, obstructing or resisting a public officer, and false identification to a peace officer.
According to DHS, ICE arrested 50,925 illegal aliens in August, topping the 50,208 illegal aliens arrested in July. August marks the second consecutive month with over 50,000 illegal alien arrests and points to a steep increase in the number of illegals being arrested and deported from the U.S. since February.
The number of arrests of illegal aliens has ramped up rapidly since February of this year. In January, 12,330 arrests were made. In February, that number rose to 17,370, and in March, it reached 18,877. The Trump Administration crossed the 20,000 threshold for total arrests within a single month in May, arresting 22,636 illegals. It crossed the 30,000 threshold in June with 30,436 arrests. July saw over 50,000 arrests and August saw nearly 51,000.
In a statement, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin noted that this is the third consecutive month that ICE has set a new record for total number of arrests of illegal aliens. “For the third straight month, ICE set a new record for the highest number of illegal aliens arrested in a single month, nearly 51,000,” stated Mullin. “This is promises made and promises kept in action. Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE is working around the clock every day to arrest and deport illegal aliens from American communities.”
The Department of Homeland Security also reported in August that since President Donald Trump has taken office, more than 3 million illegal aliens have left the United States voluntarily. DHS notes that staying in U.S. detention centers is a choice, as the United States offers streamlined self-deportation with the CBP Home App.
Data from the University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project looking at July metrics found that about half of the 50,000 individuals arrested — 24,147 individuals — were either convicted felons or had pending criminal charges. The remaining individuals were marked as “Other Immigration Violators” for violating U.S. immigration laws.
The data also found that the vast majority of those being arrested are male illegal aliens, a metric that is important considering some immigration analysts have expressed concern about military-age males representing a significant share of illegal aliens who entered the U.S. during the Biden Administration. According to the Deportation Data Project, around 86 percent, or nearly 43,000 of those arrested in July were men.
The list of deportees continues to grow, with DHS publishing streams of data on the criminal illegal aliens it has deported. A Sept. 15 DHS memo chronicles a Cambodian illegal immigrant gang member whose convictions include second-degree murder, burglary, and carrying a concealed weapon. He was deported in early September.
A Vietnamese illegal alien deported this month has a criminal record that includes hit-and-run death or injury, attempted murder, assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, possession of a firearm by a felon, second-degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm), possession of material/device for arson, possession of a controlled substance for sale, and obstructing/resisting a public officer. This illegal alien had been ordered to leave the United States in 1998, but for 28 years has remained inside the country.
Another criminal gang member from El Salvador was deported last month with a record that included convictions for second-degree robbery, possession of a controlled substance, grand theft vehicle, obstructing or resisting a public officer, and false identification to a peace officer. He had been ordered to leave the country 27 years ago.
While liberal activists — including several candidates for U.S. Senate like Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Abdul El-Sayed — call for stripping ICE of critical funding the organization needs to carry out deportations, DHS is removing criminal illegal aliens who should have been deported decades ago before they continued to terrorize Americans. Promises were made to the American people to finally begin making the country safer, and those promises are being kept. On a completely unrelated note, crime is on track to plummet to the lowest rate since 1900, but don’t tell the Democrats running on stripping ICE of every dollar it needs.
Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
