(Adnkronos) – A record number of arrests in June, never so many in the last five years. But also few expulsions, decidedly fewer than how many US President Donald Trump had promised at the beginning of his term and even fewer than those of the Obama Administration. It is NBC News that offers an assessment of the fight against illegal immigration promoted by Trump and conducted by ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The discrepancy between arrests and expulsions highlights the challenges the Trump Administration faces in keeping the president’s inauguration day promise to deport “millions and millions” of immigrants.
According to ICE data, its agents arrested about 30,000 immigrants last month, the highest number since monthly data was made public in November 2020. But the number of immigrants deported in June, over 18,000, amounts to about half the number of arrests, according to internal data obtained by NBC News. The difference between arrests and deportations was similar in May as well. Last month, the Trump administration arrested about 24,000 immigrants in May and deported over 15,000, according to ICE data.
The discrepancy during the second Trump administration can be explained by the number of detained immigrants who are not immediately eligible for deportation. Immigration attorneys told NBC News that many of their arrested clients have pending asylum applications and judges’ orders temporarily blocking their deportation. Since February, the Trump administration has recorded an average of 14,700 deportations per month, well below the monthly average of 36,000 in 2013, the year with the most deportations during the Obama administration. From February to April 2024, the Biden Administration deported an average of 12,660 immigrants, according to ICE data obtained by NBC News.
The previous arrest record was set in January 2023, when ICE arrested 18,170 people, according to agency data. The Trump Administration is trying to expedite the procedure for many of those with pending asylum applications, placing them on “expedited removal” pathways without hearings and deporting to alternative third countries those who have orders blocking their deportation to their countries of origin. The high number of arrests, coupled with deportations at half the rate, has also caused overcrowding in ICE facilities. According to a senior administration official, nearly 60,000 immigrants are being held in detention centers, despite Congress funding 41,500 beds.
