President Donald Trump’s administration has shifted immigration enforcement inland, dramatically increasing arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and triggering a rise in deportations, according to government data.
New figures show that interior enforcement has more than doubled over the past few months, filling immigration detention centres nationwide. ICE detention numbers are now approximately 25% higher than before Trump took office. As Border Patrol encounters along the U.S.–Mexico border have dropped, ICE has focused more on arresting undocumented migrants in workplaces, courthouses, and homes—a strategy that ignited protests in Los Angeles last week. The city’s surge in arrests led to the deployment of the California National Guard, despite resistance from local and state officials, causing tension and clashes with police.
While deportations under the Trump administration initially remained similar to rates seen during the Biden administration, recent months have seen a significant increase. As of late April, the government reported over 139,000 deportations for the fiscal year. Updated figures from the Department of Homeland Security indicate that deportations have since climbed to approximately 207,000, reflecting the intensified ICE activity.
Trump’s immigration strategy began with ambitious rhetoric, with the president stating his aim to remove up to 15 million undocumented migrants—potentially using military resources—to meet broader enforcement goals. While ICE leadership, including Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, has called for expanding detention capacity from the current 50,000 beds to 100,000, critics argue that aggressive targeting of undocumented migrants in U.S. communities has inflated arrest figures without necessarily addressing the core issues.
Funding for the initiative has been significant. Trump’s proposed “Big Beautiful Bill” requests $168 billion for immigration and border enforcement, compared to the current fiscal year’s $33 billion allocation, aiming to sustain the higher pace of ICE activity and deportations.
The Trump administration has also rolled out a “self-deportation” scheme, offering undocumented migrants $1,000 and a free commercial flight to return to their home countries. However, the initiative has seen limited uptake. “The self-deport campaign is unprecedented,” noted Migration Policy Institute fellow Muzaffar Chishti. “Once they realized fast deportation is not easy, they started selling this idea on a large scale.”
Despite these efforts, the administration now faces logistical challenges in securing safe havens for deported individuals. In a controversial move, migrants have been redirected to facilities in El Salvador and U.S. military installations in Guantánamo Bay, as well as flights to Panama and South Sudan. Talks are also underway with other countries to accept deportees.
As deportation numbers climb and interior enforcement intensifies, President Trump’s immigration agenda confronts mounting logistical and political hurdles — raising questions about the sustainability of his boldest promises.
