New data shows where ICE has been most active this year
The pace of ICE arrests nationwide has topped 1,100 per day on average in 2026, far higher than the rate last spring of roughly 600 arrests per day, despite a slight dip in recent weeks.
New data analyzed by The New York Times reveals that the pace of these arrests has varied across the country in sometimes surprising ways.
Some places that did not have high-profile ICE operations this year, such as Florida and San Antonio, have still seen high and steadily increasing numbers of arrests. In other areas like Los Angeles and Chicago that were targeted by ICE with aggressive enforcement operations last year, the number of arrests has fallen steeply in recent months. And in some areas — notably many places with so-called sanctuary policies in place — the arrest rate is flat, or up only slightly.
The administration’s high-profile operation in Minnesota this year, in which two U.S. citizens were killed, resulted in a steep increase in arrests there: ICE’s St. Paul field office arrested more than 5,000 people from mid-December through March 10. But four other field offices arrested more people during this same time period, led by the Miami area — with nearly 10,000 arrests — followed by the field offices in Dallas, Atlanta and San Antonio.
ICE divides its enforcement operations into 25 so-called areas of responsibility around the country, some of which encompass small geographic areas like the counties around New York City or San Diego, while others cover cities as well as multiple individual states, like the Chicago field office.
Since mid-December, three ICE field offices in Texas — Harlingen, El Paso and San Antonio — have arrested more people per capita than the St. Paul field office, despite the surge there. So have the field offices in San Diego, Phoenix and Dallas. [Continue reading…]