Immigration arrests have surged to record levels under President Donald Trump, with federal agents making almost 51,000 arrests in August alone, according to data reviewed by . State-by-state figures show the increase has been widespread, with arrests leading to detention rising sharply across much of the country between July 2025 and July 2026 as the administration carries out its mass deportation policy. Newsweek has created a map using data from the Deportation Data Project to visualize where arrests leading to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention increased in that period.
Trump has repeatedly said that immigration officers are working toward delivering the "single largest Mass Deportation Program in History." According to , immigration officers have also faced pressure to increase daily arrest numbers as enforcement operations have expanded nationwide. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin highlighted the increase in arrests on social media, writing on September 5 that "DHS continues to break records." "For the THIRD STRAIGHT month—@ICEgov set a new record for the highest number of illegal aliens arrested in a single month," he said. Newsweek has contacted ICE for comment via email outside office hours.
According to the data, some of the largest increases have occurred in the South and Southwest. Texas recorded the highest number of arrests leading to detention in July with 10,331—up from 5,787 in July 2025. Florida almost tripled, increasing from 1,938 to 5,501 arrests leading to detention.
Arizona rose from 798 to 2,028, while Georgia increased from 842 to 2,144. Other states that saw notable increases included New Jersey, which climbed from 822 to 1,854. Pennsylvania rose from 655 to 1,153.
Tennessee increased from 598 to 1,009, and Massachusetts rose from 272 to 505. Among the states that recorded smaller increases or remained relatively stable were New York—which increased modestly from 1,306 to 1,353 arrests leading to detention—and Maryland, which rose from 384 to 496. "Over the past 21 months, plain-clothed, masked, armed, unidentified and untrained federal agents have terrorized Maryland communities from the Eastern Shore to Park Heights, all the way to Washington County," Shana Khader, the legal director of the immigration advocacy group We Are CASA, said in a news release.
A smaller number of states have experienced declines. California was one of the focal points of the administration's early enforcement push, recording 2,832 arrests leading to detention in July 2025 during and after Operation at Large. By July 2026, that figure had fallen to 2,386.
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