How many illegal immagrants are arrestes per day
Executive summary
Recent public reporting shows wide variation in how many people without legal status are arrested each day by U.S. authorities: official past ICE messaging has cited figures “more than 400 arrests per day” in certain enforcement bursts [1], independent analyses of detailed ICE data have calculated rates “over 1,000 a day” during later enforcement surges [2], and contemporaneous summaries place daily averages in other periods near 600–800 arrests per day [3], reflecting rapid policy and operational shifts and differences in counting methods.
1. What the question actually asks and why counting is messy
Asking “how many illegal immigrants are arrested per day” is both a request for a headline number and a demand to define the scope — which agency, which time period, and whether one counts interior ICE arrests, Border Patrol apprehensions, arrests of people with criminal convictions only, or all administrative arrests — distinctions the data sources treat differently and that materially change the answer [4] [5].
2. Federal snapshots cited by agencies and advocates
ICE’s own historical public messaging during enforcement surges has presented averages such as “more than 400 arrests per day” during a concentrated 100‑day push in 2017 [1], while DHS and ICE press releases in early 2026 emphasized large numbers of “criminal illegal aliens” arrested in specific operations without providing a single consistent daily average for the period [6] [7].
3. Independent processing of ICE data finds higher contemporaneous rates
Researchers who processed newly released ICE arrest data reported considerably higher daily tallies: the Deportation Data Project/Prison Policy analysis concluded there were “over 1,000 a day” of ICE arrests concentrated in cooperating states in the first year of the current enforcement push [2], a figure grounded in government data but reflecting a broader counting method that includes many arrests originating from local jails and lock‑ups [2].
4. Temporary monthly snapshots that help triangulate the range
Monthly booking totals give another perspective: TRAC’s processing of October 2025 ICE/CBP bookings shows ICE booked 36,635 people into detention that month and CBP booked 4,989 — totals that, taken together, represent roughly 41,624 bookings in October 2025 and imply daily averages in the low thousands if extrapolated [8]. Public summaries and press briefings around January–February 2026 reported daily arrest levels ranging into the several hundreds per day [3] [9], demonstrating that the rate changed quickly over weeks and months.
5. Why officials, researchers, and advocates report different numbers
Differences stem from what’s counted (ICE ERO interior arrests versus CBP border apprehensions versus arrests of people already in local jails), the time window chosen, and whether only those with criminal convictions are included; ICE’s category definitions and press framing emphasize “criminal illegal aliens” while outside researchers include broader administrative arrests and local jail referrals [4] [5] [2]. Policy changes — such as expanded warrantless arrest guidance and intensified at‑large operations — also produced rapid increases in interior arrests and re‑arrests, shifting monthly and daily averages [10] [11].
6. Bottom line — a range, not a single immutable number
Depending on the period and the counting method, reported daily arrests of people unlawfully present vary widely: official ICE messaging has cited figures around “more than 400 per day” for discrete operations [1], analyses of comprehensive ICE datasets find “over 1,000 a day” during more recent surges [2], and contemporaneous summaries and media reporting place some months between roughly 600–800 per day [3] [8]. Available public sources do not converge on one uniform daily figure; any single number must be read against definitions and the narrow time frame used by the source.