Deportations and arrests in the US reach historic high

Democrats plan to investigate the administration’s immigration policy and ICE operations after taking control of Congress next year.

The number of deportations and arrests in the United States has reached its highest level on record amid the immigration policies of President Donald Trump’s administration, according to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In a report released on Wednesday, the department said that ICE deported 483,200 people during fiscal year 2026. It also recorded more than 491,000 arrests related to violations of immigration law.

The number of deportations marks a record in ICE’s 23-year history. The previous high was recorded in 2025, when 442,640 people were removed from the country.

According to US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, fiscal year 2026 saw the highest number of deportations and arrests in the agency’s history. September 2026 also set a record for arrests in that month.

ICE arrested more than 48,000 people in September. The figure for August was 50,925.

Questions over the figures

Steven Camarota, research director at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), told Al Jazeera that the Trump administration had significantly stepped up immigration law enforcement compared with previous administrations.

In his view, tougher enforcement measures may also have contributed to a decline in the number of undocumented immigrants in the country. Some migrants may be choosing to leave the United States voluntarily because of the risk of deportation.

However, Camarota said the DHS figures left some questions unanswered. In particular, the department did not specify how many deportees had been arrested during enforcement operations inside the country and how many had been turned away at the US border or airports.

Trump acknowledges immigration policy may have been “too tough”

US President Donald Trump previously acknowledged that his administration’s immigration policy may have been “too tough” in some cases.

In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, he defended his approach, saying his administration had achieved significant results in removing migrants who had committed crimes. However, Trump also acknowledged that some people who had entered the US illegally but were working and holding jobs had been deported as well.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, public approval of Trump’s immigration policy has fallen from 50% at the beginning of his presidency to 38%.

Democrats plan to investigate ICE

Democrats plan to challenge the Trump administration’s immigration policies after taking control of Congress next year. They aim to investigate ICE’s enforcement methods and expand opportunities for migrants to obtain legal status.

Bennie Thompson, the Democrat expected to chair the House Homeland Security Committee, told Reuters that he intended to investigate the administration’s use of the Department of Homeland Security against Americans, as well as what he described as out-of-control immigration policies.

Some Democrats have openly called for a fundamental overhaul of ICE. Peggy Flanagan, the senator-elect from Minnesota, said: “We will rip ICE apart.”

Her remarks came after two US citizens were killed in Minneapolis during operations involving federal immigration agents. Videos showing the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good spread widely on social media and sparked international criticism.