President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has reached a major milestone in July 2026 as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made a total of 51,000 arrests in a single month, making it the highest monthly arrest total in the agency’s history. This breaks down to an average of 1,654 immigration arrests per day during the month, according to several federal sources.
The record-setting arrest total comes just a month after ICE set what was at the time a new monthly record with almost 43,000 arrests in June, which gives the immigration enforcement agency back-to-back record-setting months. Federal sources spoke with Fox News about the number of arrests, saying that the surge came after a slowdown period following the unrest in Minneapolis.
They then attributed the dramatic increase to the end of the Homeland Security shutdown, the hiring of thousands of new ICE personnel, and billions of dollars in new funding from two reconciliation bills that replenished their financial resources. The additional funds have fueled a new round of hiring and enforcement operations happening across the country.
According to a report from Fox News, the Department of Homeland Security took to social media platform X where they published a post praising ICE officers for their efforts in apprehending criminal illegal aliens. “Every day, the brave men and women of ICE are arresting and DEPORTING dangerous criminal illegal aliens, including gang members, from our country,” DHS wrote.
“Under @POTUS Trump and @SecMullinDHS, the safety of the American people will always come first,” the post continued. The July numbers are the highest single-month arrest numbers ever recorded by ICE and as stated above, marks the second time the agency has shattered its own record. ICE announced in July that its office in Harlingen, Texas busted 238 illegal aliens in a single day, which set a record for targeted arrests in the Rio Grande Valley.
ICE later revealed that the individuals taken into ICE custody included a Paisas gang member and a Mexican national who had prior convictions for attempted kidnapping, sexual battery, and illegal entry. Juan Agudelo, the director of the Harlingen Field Office, said the agency is dedicated to “enhancing public safety and restoring integrity to our nation’s immigration system.”
“We will stop at nothing to keep our American communities safe by removing one criminal illegal alien at a time,” Agudelo went on to say. Folks on social media platform Facebook were also very pleased to see the success ICE is having. “Wonderful! Keep up the great work!” one user wrote. Another commented, “Let’s double it!”
"*" indicates required fields
“Need to step it up, boys. At 51,000 arrests a month it will take 26 years to get the 16 million Biden allowed in,” someone else wrote, making the point that what Biden allowed during his four years in the White House could take decades to boot out. “That is a nice number. Now I understand why they are putting ankle bracelets on TPS people that haven’t been flown out yet I have a feeling that when the numbers come in for August, they are going to be even higher,” someone wrote.