US immigration enforcement has accelerated sharply, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting 49,571 people in July, the highest monthly total since President Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term.

The July figure represents a roughly 15% increase from June, when ICE recorded 43,021 arrests. It was also about 70% higher than the number recorded in February.

The figures come from government data provided by ICE to the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley and UCLA and analysed by the Associated Press.

The increase marks another stage in the Trump administration's effort to expand immigration enforcement across the United States.

Before Trump returned to office in January 2025, monthly immigration arrests were slightly above 8,000. A large portion of those arrests involved immigrants who had been transferred from local or state jails and prisons to ICE custody for removal.

The numbers began climbing after Trump took office as officials relaxed restrictions on where and whom ICE agents could target.

By December 2025, monthly arrests had exceeded 40,000. The numbers then fell in February 2026 following two fatal shootings in Minnesota that triggered protests and criticism from Democratic lawmakers. After remaining relatively stable for several months, arrests increased again in June and rose further in July.

Texas and Florida were at the centre of the latest enforcement surge. Nearly 20,000 of the July arrests occurred in the two states.

Both states have expanded cooperation with ICE through agreements known as 287(g) partnerships. These arrangements allow participating state and local law enforcement agencies to perform certain federal immigration enforcement duties.

The role of local and state police in immigration enforcement has grown considerably over the past year.

According to the data, agencies participating in ICE partnerships accounted for about 6,500 arrests in July, or approximately 13% of the total. A year earlier, such agencies accounted for less than 5% of ICE's monthly arrests.

The expansion comes after a major recruitment drive at ICE.

The agency added roughly 12,000 officers and agents last year, giving it significantly more personnel to conduct immigration enforcement operations across the country.

The latest figures also raise questions about who is being targeted.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said that immigration enforcement operations are aimed at people who have committed crimes in the United States and that the programme is intended to improve public safety.

But the July data presents a more complicated picture.

More than half of the people arrested in July had no criminal convictions and were not facing criminal charges. Less than one-quarter of those arrested had been convicted of a crime.

Around half of the arrests were also classified as non-custodial.

That means ICE agents arrested people in the community rather than taking custody of individuals who were already being held in prisons or local police facilities.

Traffic stops have increasingly become one setting where immigration enforcement can occur.

Community journalists and immigrant advocates have reported an increase in arrests after motorists are stopped for relatively routine issues such as driving without a licence, expired vehicle registration or violations involving vehicle equipment.

The encounters can then lead to questions about a person's immigration status and potential involvement by ICE.

Immigration advocates have also raised concerns about people with legal work authorisation or pending asylum claims being caught up in enforcement actions. Individual immigration cases can involve different legal circumstances, however, and an arrest does not by itself establish the final outcome of a person's immigration case.

The Trump administration maintains that it is enforcing existing immigration law and carrying out a campaign aimed at removing people who are unlawfully present in the United States.

The growing number of arrests has nevertheless generated wider debate over due process, immigrant rights and the expanding role of federal immigration officers.

The enforcement campaign has also been accompanied by deadly encounters.

At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump returned to office and began his immigration crackdown, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera.

The latest arrest figures show that the administration's mass-deportation agenda remains active despite changes in strategy.

Earlier operations in major cities attracted significant public attention and criticism. More recent enforcement has increasingly involved smaller operations and cooperation with state and local authorities, which can attract less national attention while still producing large numbers of arrests.

The growing role of local police is particularly significant.

Through 287(g) agreements, participating departments can perform certain immigration enforcement functions on behalf of the federal government. Texas and Florida have embraced these partnerships, helping make them two of the most important states in the administration's enforcement campaign.

The July numbers therefore reflect several developments happening at the same time: a larger ICE workforce, expanded cooperation with local police, broader enforcement activity and a shift towards arrests of people in the community.

For the administration, the figures demonstrate that its immigration crackdown is continuing at a high level.

For immigrant communities and rights groups, the data raises concerns about the number of people being detained despite having no criminal convictions and about the consequences of giving local law enforcement a greater role in federal immigration enforcement.

The political debate is likely to continue as the administration pursues its broader deportation programme.

The immediate figures are clear: 49,571 people were arrested by ICE in July, making it the highest monthly total of Trump's second term. The number was 15% above June and roughly 70% higher than February.

Whether the July surge represents a new sustained level of enforcement or a temporary increase will become clearer as subsequent monthly data emerges.

For now, the figures show that US immigration enforcement remains one of the Trump administration's most aggressive domestic policy priorities.