Deportations from ICE street arrests jump, study says. Here's why.

Deportations from ICE street arrests jump, study says. Here's why.

Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY

Tue, January 27, 2026 at 8:40 PM UTC

3 min read

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The Trump administration dramatically increased deportations by arresting migrants on American streets, often without criminal records, according to a new report.

The Deportation Data Project's report, released Jan. 27, shows the sweeping effects of U.S. Immigration and Enforcement tactics within U.S. borders. Deportations stemming from ICE arrests quadrupled, while street arrests alone increased 11 times.

"The crackdown is bigger than what it would seem," David Hausman, a University of California, Berkeley, assistant professor of law and co-director of the Deportation Data Project, a repository of federal immigration enforcement data, told USA TODAY. He pointed to large increases in arrests within the United States, which often get conflated with arrests at the border that have dwindled dramatically under Trump.

US Customs and Border Protection agents arrest a man after not providing documents proving he's a citizen of the United States while patrolling a neighborhood during immigration enforcement activity in Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minn. on Jan. 11, 2026. A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on the streets of Minneapolis on Jan. 7, leading to huge protests and outrage from local leaders who rejected White House claims she was a domestic terrorist.

U.S. Border Patrol agents smash a man's car window before dragging him out and taking him into custody when he failed to present citizenship documentation at a gas station on Jan. 11, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. The Trump administration has sent an estimated 2,000 federal agents into the area as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Border Patrol agents deploy tear gas as they clash with residents in a residential neighborhood after a minor traffic accident Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The Trump administration has sent an estimated 2,000 federal agents into the area in a push to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Federal law enforcement agents clash with residents in a neighborhood following a minor traffic accident Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis. The Trump administration has sent an estimated 2,000 federal agents into the area in a push to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Federal law enforcement agents deploy tear gas as they clash with residents in a residential neighborhood after a minor traffic accident Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The Trump administration has sent an estimated 2,000 federal agents into the area in a push to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Federal law enforcement agents ask a women to produce citizenship documentation as she was walking down the street Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The Trump administration has sent an estimated 2,000 federal agents into the area in a push to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Federal law enforcement agents take a person who was standing in a residential neighborhood into custody when he was unable to produce citizenship documentation Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The Trump administration has sent an estimated 2,000 federal agents into the area in a push to arrest undocumented immigrants.

State Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, speaks with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at around 12:30 p.m. Jan. 12 in front of a few businesses on Third Street North.

Crowds gathered at the intersection of Third Street N and 33rd Avenue N in St. Cloud as ICE agents came through the area Jan. 12.

Federal agents continue surge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota

US Customs and Border Protection agents arrest a man after not providing documents proving he's a citizen of the United States while patrolling a neighborhood during immigration enforcement activity in Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minn. on Jan. 11, 2026. A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on the streets of Minneapolis on Jan. 7, leading to huge protests and outrage from local leaders who rejected White House claims she was a domestic terrorist.

Rather than prior targeted tactics arresting specific people or those convicted of crimes, ICE appeared to arrest any undocumented person they could in American communities, according to the report's authors.

“When we traced the sources of the ramp-up, we realized that it all started with ICE targeting its arrests less,” Graeme Blair, a University of California, Los Angeles, political science professor and co-director of the Deportation Data Project, said in a statement.

“Now ICE is doing something new,” he said. “It seems to be arresting anyone it can.”

USA TODAY has reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

The Trump administration has repeatedly touted its deportation figures. Officials have repeatedly encouraged people to “self-deport” rather than go through the detention system. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, previously said that ICE had a minimum goal of 3,000 arrests per day.

The new report, based on the latest available data from when Trump took office through Oct. 15, appears to show sweeping effects of immigration enforcement tactics that some critics have called indiscriminate. The Trump administration has surged federal agents into several American cities as part of its promise to deport millions of migrants.

The report showed overall arrests in streets were up 11 times compared to the monthly average in the six months before Trump's second inauguration, while transfers to ICE custody from prisons and jails roughly doubled. People arrested without any criminal convictions were up seven times.

"It's fair to suggest a new kind of randomness in ICE arrests," Hausman said.

Federal officials tripled the number of detention beds used for arrests of migrants within the country, the report said. The increased capacity was a product of new funding approved by Congress that was injected into immigration enforcement, while arrests at the border have dropped substantially.

Few of those arrested were released, building on already low figures before Trump’s second administration. During the last few months of Joe Biden’s presidency, releases from deportation within two months were around 16% in 2024. But in Trump’s first nine months in 2025, that went down to 3%.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller watch US President Donald Trump speak to journalists as he makes his way to board Marine One before departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on June 15, 2025. Trump is headed to Canada to attend the G7 summit.

Data indicate that more people are giving up and accepting deportation, according to the researchers. The lower release rate may contribute to voluntary departures increasing by 21 times.

The Deportation Data Project obtained ICE datasets through a Freedom of Immigration Act lawsuit. Hausman said researchers are working to get updated data.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deportations from ICE street arrests jump, study says. Here's why.

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