WASHINGTON, DC – Newly released government data reveals a significant shift in the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), showing a marked increase in both interior arrests and deportations over the last fiscal year.
- Increased Enforcement – ICE’s Fiscal Year 2024 report shows a 15% increase in administrative arrests and a 30% rise in deportations compared to FY2023, reversing a previous downward trend.
- Shift in Policy – A May 2025 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo updated enforcement priorities, directing agents to focus on national security threats, aggravated felons, and all individuals who crossed the border unlawfully after a specified 2024 date.
- Historical Context – While current enforcement levels have risen, they remain below the peak years of the previous decade, highlighting a fluctuating but persistent focus on interior enforcement as a policy tool.
This surge in enforcement activity follows new directives from the Department of Homeland Security, prompting a closer look at the specific numbers, the policies guiding them, and how the current landscape compares to recent history.
What the Latest Data Reveals About Enforcement Actions
The official Fiscal Year 2024 Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) report, released by ICE, provides a clear statistical picture of the agency’s recent activities. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, ICE conducted 165,400 administrative arrests, a 15% jump from the 143,800 arrests in FY2023. Of these, approximately 68% involved individuals with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, a slight increase in proportion from the year prior.
Deportations, or removals, saw a more substantial increase. The agency carried out 185,600 removals in FY2024, up 30% from 142,580 in FY2023. Data from the first quarter of FY2025 suggests this accelerated pace is continuing. The key question this data raises is what specific changes in policy are driving these numbers.
The Policy Shift Behind the Numbers
The statistical increases are not arbitrary; they are the direct result of revised guidance from the federal government. In May 2025, the Secretary of Homeland Security issued a new memorandum on “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law.” This memo superseded earlier guidance and established clearer, broader priorities for ICE personnel.
The directive explicitly prioritizes three categories for apprehension and removal:
- Threats to National Security: Individuals suspected of terrorism or espionage.
- Threats to Public Safety: Primarily individuals convicted of an “aggravated felony” or certain gang-related offenses.
- Threats to Border Security: Individuals who entered the U.S. unlawfully after November 1, 2024, or who were not physically present in the country before that date.
This third category represents the most significant operational change, effectively making any recent unauthorized border crosser a priority for interior enforcement, not just at the border itself. This differs from earlier policies that often placed more nuanced emphasis on factors like length of time in the country or community ties for non-criminals.
Historical Context and Practical Effects
To understand the significance of these figures, context is crucial. The 165,400 arrests in FY2024 are higher than the 103,603 in FY2021 but remain below the 267,258 arrests recorded in FY2019. This illustrates a return to more robust interior enforcement after a period of more restricted activity, but not yet at the peak levels seen under the previous administration.
The practical effect of these policy changes is twofold. First, it signals a lower threshold for initiating enforcement action against a wider population of undocumented immigrants, particularly those who have arrived in the past year. Second, it aligns interior enforcement more closely with border management goals, using deportations as a tool to deter future unauthorized crossings. The current data reflects a clear, deliberate policy choice to increase the scale and pace of immigration enforcement within the United States.
