US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 49,571 people in July, marking the highest monthly arrest tally during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to government data analysed by The Associated Press.The figure was 15 per cent higher than the 43,021 arrests recorded in June and about 70 per cent above February’s 29,241 arrests, the data showed. The numbers were provided by ICE to the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley and UCLA.The surge comes as the Trump administration continues to pursue its mass deportation agenda, while shifting away from the highly visible immigration raids that drew widespread attention earlier in the year.Instead, enforcement has increasingly involved traffic stops, local police partnerships and arrests at routine immigration appointments.ICE’s expanding cooperation with state and local law enforcement accounted for about 6,500 arrests in July, or roughly 13% of the monthly total, according to the AP analysis. A year earlier, such partnerships made up less than 5 per cent of ICE arrests.Texas and Florida together accounted for nearly 20,000 arrests in July. Both states have expanded cooperation with ICE through 287(g) agreements, which allow local and state officers to perform certain immigration enforcement duties.The latest figures also indicate that a large share of those arrested did not have criminal convictions. More than half of the people arrested in July had neither been convicted of a crime nor faced criminal charges, while fewer than one-quarter had a criminal conviction, according to the data.Half of the arrests were non-custodial, meaning ICE agents apprehended people in their communities rather than taking them into custody after they had been held by local authorities.The increase follows a rise in arrests in June after the numbers had remained relatively flat for several months following a decline in February.Immigration arrests had been above 40,000 by December, after the administration loosened restrictions on where and whom ICE could arrest.The administration has also expanded the agency’s resources and staffing as it seeks to increase immigration enforcement.Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had earlier indicated that the administration would pursue a quieter enforcement strategy, but the latest figures show that mass deportations remain a key priority.Immigration advocates and attorneys have reported arrests during traffic stops and other routine encounters, including cases involving people with valid work permits or pending asylum claims.
