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The number of migrants detained by U.S. authorities during the term of President Donald Trump reached its highest level in July, with more than 50,000 arrests, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to EFE.
The increase comes amid pressure from the Republican administration to increase migrant detentions, with the goal of reaching 2,000 arrests per day, and an expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, including arrests at airports.
In June, the government reported approximately 43,000 detentions, also a record figure during this administration, added the official, who asked not to be identified.
These data, which have not yet been officially published, reveal an increase in ICE operations, despite criticism from the opposition and human rights organizations regarding the government's tactics, especially after two people were shot and killed by immigration agents in July.
Speaking to reporters after the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado in Texas and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that his agency "will intensify the pressure on the streets."
"I do not choose which laws to apply; I enforce the laws of our country. That means I will enforce them both within our own agency and among criminals on the streets. That is my guarantee," added the secretary.
However, the majority of people detained by immigration authorities in the U.S. during the Republican administration do not have criminal records, according to studies, which contradicts the administration's narrative that authorities are pursuing "criminals" and "the worst of the worst."
According to a study published last week by the University of Colorado Boulder, only 34% of the people arrested by ICE since January 2025, when Trump took office, had been convicted of a crime.
Since Trump came to power, there have also been at least 30 incidents in which ICE agents fired at civilians, resulting in eight deaths, according to data from the portal The Trace.
In detention centers, about 55 people have died in ICE custody, 22 of them so far in 2026.
In this context, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called in June for an "independent" investigation into the deaths at the hands of ICE and criticized what he considers a "lack of transparency" on the part of the U.S. regarding these incidents.
[Publicidad]