ICE Arrested Nearly 51,000 Illegal Immigrants in August: DHS

Federal immigration authorities arrested nearly 51,000 illegal immigrants throughout the United States in August, a record for a single month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Wednesday.

The total of 50,925 caps a steady three-month growth in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, surpassing June and July totals of 43,900 and 50,208, respectively.

“The hard-working men and women of DHS continue to break records as they defend the homeland and protect the American people,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a Sept. 2 statement. “This is promises made and promises kept in action.”

Meanwhile, a report based on data provided by the U.S. government to the Deportation Data Project showed ICE arrests in July to be 49,571, hundreds fewer than the DHS figure.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, more than 3 million illegal immigrants have left the United States or been deported, according to a DHS news release.

The federal government has continually encouraged all unlawful foreign nationals to self-deport, offering a free flight to the individual’s home country and a $3,000 check. DHS and administration officials typically offered a $2,600 check, but the latest Homeland Security news release pitched $3,000.

Illegal aliens who are instead caught by immigration officials will be removed from the country without a chance to lawfully return, DHS said.

The agency highlighted several “worst of the worst” criminal aliens deported over the last few record-breaking months.

Those included a Kenyan man convicted of murder in Compton, California; an Indian man convicted of child sex crimes in Washington; a Guatemalan man convicted on drug charges in Cincinnati; an Ecuadorian man convicted of sexual assault and child sexual assault crimes in Bergen County, New Jersey; a Mexican man convicted of DUI manslaughter in Polk County, Florida; a Mexican gang member convicted of DUI, illegal re-entry, and a child sex crime; and a Honduran gang member convicted of aggravated robbery in Houston.

Trump’s immigration crackdown has evolved into a multi-faceted approach, involving targeted ICE operations, executive orders, a pause on immigrant visa applications, revocations of temporary protected status, and more.

Many efforts have been met with legal challenges, some of which have been successful, such as a federal judge on Wednesday blocking enforcement of Trump’s executive order that aimed at restricting birthright citizenship.

Despite lawsuits, a Supreme Court loss for Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship, and pushback from Democratic lawmakers, who withheld funding for ICE and Border Patrol earlier this year over the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal officers during protests against immigration enforcement operations, the administration achieved funding for those two agencies through the end of Trump’s term.

In response to some of the Democrats’ demands, ICE said it completed a nationwide rollout of body-worn cameras last month for its officers.

Mullin again warned, in the statement, illegal immigrants still in the United States: “If you are in the country illegally, LEAVE NOW. If not, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you.”