Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record 483,200 people in fiscal year 2026, according to new Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by CBS News, marking a historic escalation in President Trump's signature
, even as with the increase in interior enforcement.
uncertain
Enforcement → deport → enforcement
The total number of individuals deported represents the highest annual figure in ICE's reported history, surpassing the law enforcement agency's previous record of 442,640 in fiscal year 2025.
asserted
number → deport → year
ICE also reported more than 491,000 immigration arrests during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests — another record, according to DHS.
uncertain
ICE → report → DHS
Administrative arrests are those in which alleged undocumented immigrants are arrested for civil violations rather than criminal charges.
asserted
immigrants → arrest → charges
The records underscore a defining feature of Mr. Trump's second presidency — a sweeping enforcement campaign reshaped by dramatic immigration policy and the operational expansion of the federal law enforcement footprint in communities far from the border.
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records → underscore → border
But they also arrive at a politically complicated moment for Mr. Trump.
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they → arrive → Trump
Following
in the midterm elections, the president has publicly acknowledged that parts of his deportation campaign .
asserted
president → follow → campaign
Yet that admission was coupled with Stephen Miller, the architect of many of his most restrictive immigration policies, to White House chief of staff.
asserted
admission → couple → staff
These new figures underscore a tension further reflected within American public opinion.
asserted
figures → underscore → opinion
CBS News polls have shown
for border security alongside with how immigration laws are enforced in communities nationwide.
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laws → show → communities
According to DHS, the new deportation total is approximately 18% higher than the 409,849 removals ICE recorded in fiscal year 2012, during the Obama administration, a longstanding agency benchmark.
uncertain
ICE → accord → benchmark
The new record is also nearly 78% higher than the 271,484 deportations recorded in fiscal year 2024, the last full fiscal year under President Biden.
asserted
record → record → Biden
ICE reported a total of 50,925 arrests in the month of August alone, eclipsing the previous monthly high set in July.
asserted
ICE → report → July
By September, the agency was still carrying out more than 48,000 arrests a month, according to DHS, reflecting a sustained rapid pace of enforcement.
uncertain
agency → carry → enforcement
Still, a record number of reported deportations does not necessarily mean a record number of formal removal orders carried out.
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number → report → orders
ICE's deportation figures do not include governmentwide statistics, which include actions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and distinguish between formal removals, voluntary returns and voluntary departures.
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which → include → removals
Using broader measures, nationwide deportations reached higher thresholds during portions of the early 2000s.
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deportations → use → 2000s
A new analysis published Wednesday by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, raised additional questions about how DHS counts deportations.
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DHS → publish → deportations
Based on case-by-case federal immigration records, researchers found that formal removals accounted for just 63% of deportations in July and August 2026, with the remainder consisting of voluntary departures and returns.
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remainder → base → departures
"I couldn't be prouder of the brave men and women of ICE, who just broke more historic records," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement Thursday that accompanied the new numbers.
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that → break → numbers
"Fiscal Year 2026 saw the highest number of ICE deportations and arrests for any year in ICE's history.
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Year → see → history
The total number of ICE arrests in Fiscal Year 2026 was more than all three full fiscal years under Biden combined, as the patriots of ICE work around the clock to make America safe again.
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America → combine → clock
Thanks to President Trump's leadership, ICE has been unleashed to target and remove illegal aliens so that we can save American lives.
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we → unleash → lives
The "worst of the worst" — and a broader reality
The Trump administration has consistently defended its campaign as a public safety mission, boasting arrests and deportations of people accused or convicted of serious crimes, those DHS has repeatedly described as the "worst of the worst."
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DHS → defend → worst
In its accounting of the 2026 fiscal year's deportations, DHS has highlighted several such cases: Raul Genesis Ortiz Moran, a Mexican national charged with second-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault in connection with the death of a 2-year-old girl in Virginia.
asserted
DHS → highlight → Virginia
The Louisa County Sheriff's Office independently confirmed the charges.
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Office → confirm → charges
The department also cited Soili Xiomara Aparicio-Santos, a Honduran national deported in April who, according to DHS, was convicted of attempting to murder her newborn son in New York.
uncertain
who → cite → York
The cases illustrate the serious public safety threats immigration officers can encounter, but are not representative of hundreds of thousands in arrests.
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officers → illustrate → arrests
DHS has repeatedly argued that immigrants without U.S. criminal records can still have criminal histories overseas or pose security risks to the public.
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immigrants → argue → public
The department also often notes that immigration law alone justifies civil arrest and deportation.
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law → note → arrest
Still, federal authorities have not publicly provided comprehensive evidence showing how many arrested immigrants without U.S. criminal records have committed crimes abroad.
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immigrants → provide → crimes
An
found that in July 2026, for the first time during Mr. Trump's second term, more than half of ICE arrests involved immigrants who had neither criminal convictions nor pending criminal charges.
asserted
who → find → convictions
That analysis also found that approximately 6% of people booked into ICE detention during Mr. Trump's second administration had convictions for violent crimes.
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% → find → crimes
Separately, the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute found that only about 20% of approximately 980,000 deportations carried out collectively by ICE and CBP between January 2025 and July 2026 involved someone with a criminal conviction.
asserted
% → find → conviction
Among deported immigrants who had lived in the U.S. for at least two years, 71% had no criminal conviction.
asserted
% → deport → conviction
Many Americans believe immigration enforcement has gone too far
According
from the 2026 midterm elections, 58% of voters said the Trump administration's immigration enforcement had gone too far.
asserted
enforcement → believe → voters
Another 22% said it had been about right, while 20% believed it had not gone far enough.
asserted
it → say → ?
While support for border security remains high, it does not necessarily translate into support for tactics and operations used to enforce immigration law in American cities and towns nationwide.
asserted
it → remain → cities
the president acknowledged that his immigration crackdown had taken a political toll.
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crackdown → acknowledge → toll
"I think it was too tough," Mr. Trump told "60 Minutes" correspondent Ross Douthat.
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Trump → think → Douthat
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
