Trump sees record high ICE arrests but lower deportations than Obama: Report

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have recently made a record number of arrests of illegal migrants, but the Trump administration is still seeing lower deportation numbers than the Obama administration, per data obtained by NBC News.

President Donald Trump has vowed to deport "millions and millions" of illegal migrants, but has faced heavy legal scrutiny over his efforts to pull it off, including his attempt to invoke a rarely used war power to send suspected terrorists and gang members out of the country without due process. 

ICE reportedly arrested approximately 30,000 illegal migrants in June, the outlet reported, but only deported roughly 18,000. The arrest number marks the highest recorded since monthly data was made publicly available in November 2020. In May, ICE arrested 24,000 and deported approximately 15,000.

The previous record for arrests in a single month was 18,170 in January 2023, according to NBC News.

The Trump administration is also allegedly deporting illegal migrants at a lower rate than the Obama administration, which averaged 36,000 deportations per month in 2013. Since February, the current administration has been deporting an average of 14,700 undocumented migrants per month. 

The report comes after Congress passed a massive federal funding bill that will give ICE $45 billion in detention funding. Democrats have criticized ICE for allegedly arresting more migrants than they can house, resulting in supposed overcrowding.

The Trump administration has strongly denied allegations of overcrowding or mistreatment of detained migrants, stating that ICE is working hard to quickly remove dangerous illegal migrants from the country in order to make more space.

“All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “As we arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens and public safety threats from the U.S., ICE has worked diligently to obtain greater necessary detention space while avoiding overcrowding.”

The Trump administration has been prioritizing arresting alleged gang members who are in the country illegally and other serious criminals. McLaughlin on Wednesday said DHS had arrested nearly 600 known or suspected terrorists and 2,700 members of Tren de Aragua.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.