ICE Detention Numbers Decline Despite Trump Administration's Enforcement Push

Since President Trump's second term began, ICE arrests have declined from a peak average of nearly 1,400 per day in mid-January 2025 to around 1,000 per day by early March, with detention facilities holding approximately 58,000–60,000 migrants compared to a high of nearly 72,000 in January. The administration has simultaneously pursued a broader strategy of making immigration less viable through policy changes: banning immigrant visas from 75 countries, halting processing of applications from 39 others (a policy a federal judge struck down in June), restricting work permits for asylum seekers, and requiring immigrants seeking green cards to leave the U.S. to complete the process. An ABC News analysis of ICE data obtained via FOIA requests found that of 438,537 people detained between January 20, 2025, and March 11, 2026, only 13,018—about 3%—had a violent felony conviction, while more than 400,000 had no violent criminal history; the Department of Homeland Security disputed the framing, arguing that nearly 70% of arrests involve 'criminal illegal aliens' and that many without U.S. rap sheets are gang members or terrorists. The data also showed ICE apprehended the parents of approximately 14,450 U.S.-born children in the first eight months of 2025, nearly surpassing the total for all of 2024. Border crossings at the southern border have plummeted during this period, and more than 90,000 immigrants have accepted voluntary departure since the administration began. The detention decline has drawn criticism from some Trump supporters who say mass deportation goals are not being met, while the administration insists enforcement remains robust and that Stephen Miller's policy-focused approach—restricting legal pathways—represents a long-term structural shift rather than a slowdown.