U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests have spiked across the country in recent weeks, despite pushback from anti-ICE protestors and an alarming increase in attacks on federal immigration agents.
In Michigan, immigration arrests are up 154% since President Donald Trump took office, as he vows to deliver on his campaign promise to secure the border and carry out mass deportations.
According to data shared by the Deportation Data Project, the pace of immigration arrests has accelerated nationwide, with Michigan seeing a sharp increase in early June, MLive reported.
On Monday, Border Czar Tom Homan had another message: Buckle up, because he wants ICE agents to arrest at least 7,000 illegal immigrants every day — more than double the current quota, The New York Post reported.
“And for those that say 3,000 a day is too much, I want to remind them, do the math, we have to arrest 7,000 every single day for the remainder of this administration just to catch the ones Biden released into the nation,” Homan told reporters Monday outside the White House.
Since Jan. 20, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 940 illegal immigrants in Michigan — that’s compared to the 951 people detained in all of 2024.
Under the Biden administration, ICE averaged two to three arrests a day in Michigan. Those figures have been steadily climbing since January, with immigration agents detaining an average of 12 people a day during the first two weeks of June.
That translates into a 154% increase in ICE arrests in Michigan, when comparing last year’s daily average to the daily average since Trump took office, MLive reported.
The data also indicates some details about the location of arrests, with the highest concentrations in the metro Detroit and Grand Rapids areas.
According to a map, many counties in northern Michigan have had zero ICE arrests. In the Upper Peninsula, ICE made a total of five arrests in Luce, Chippewa, Dickinson and Menominee counties.
More than 200 of the arrests did not have a specific location, with many of those categorized as “ERO street arrest,” or enforcement and removal operations. Others are identified with cities, county jails and police departments, MLive reported.
Additionally, the recent data doesn’t include any numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a separate agency that has jurisdiction within 100 miles of a border or international waterway. Border Patrol monitors broad regions of the country, including Michigan’s border with Canada.
According to a recent New York Times analysis, the Deportation Data Project’s data shows that immigration arrests are up in every state — and more than doubled in 38 states in the months since President Trump took office.
Some locations such as South Dakota, Nebraska are Virginia are seeing huge spikes, The New York Times reported.
The jump in immigration arrests also follows a directive from White House advisor Stephen Miller to hit a 3,000-a-day-arrest quota. In late May, Miller reportedly demanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement step up efforts to arrest more illegal immigrants.
In part, ICE has felt more pressure to go out into communities and arrest people because border arrests have plummeted to record lows in recent months.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem touted the plunge in border crossings last week, saying, “the world is hearing our message: the border is closed to law breakers.”
In June, Customs and Border Protection had the lowest number of nationwide encounters in CBP history at 25,243, according to a DHS news release.
Despite a deep partisan divide over how ICE arrests should be carried out, the Trump administration has doubled down on detaining and deporting millions of unvetted illegal immigrants — particularly in sanctuary cities where local policies protect them and skirt federal immigration law.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, the City Council and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass over local sanctuary city policies. The lawsuit alleges that L.A.’s sanctuary city policies are illegal under federal law and fueled the recent civil unrest and violence against federal agents.
Led by Homan, the federal government has taken a multi-prong approach to immigration enforcement, targeting criminal illegals released back into the community and worksites suspected of employing workers using fraudulent documents.
Homan also prioritized gang members, terrorists and foreign nationals who have been deported multiple times or are considered a threat to national security.
The Trump administration has expanded 287g agreements, a growing program that allows local police to partner with ICE to carry out some immigration enforcement duties. Five Michigan law enforcement agencies have joined the program to date.
In Michigan, the former prison, North Lake Correctional Facility that’s owned privately by GEO Group, reopened as the largest detention facility in the Midwest on June 16.
Trump also pushed for more funding for border security and immigration in his “big beautiful bill,” which he signed on July 4. The Trump administration has been rapidly trying to expand capacity — aiming to get 100,000 beds — by leaning on private prison companies to reopen shuttered prisons as detention centers.
Noem posted on X after the bill was passed: “Today’s passage of the Big Beautiful Bill is a win for law and order and the safety and security of the American people. This $165 billion in funding will help @DHSGov and our brave law enforcement further deliver on President Trump’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”
Today’s passage of the Big Beautiful Bill is a win for law and order and the safety and security of the American people. This $165 billion in funding will help @DHSGov and our brave law enforcement further deliver on President Trump’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) July 3, 2025
As Americans are coming off the long holiday weekend, celebrating Independence Day and the nation’s 249th birthday, polls indicate a strong party line split when it comes to patriotism and national pride — along with Trump’s approval on immigration enforcement.
A new Gallup report shows that a sense of pride in America has plummeted over the past decade. A record-low number of U.S. adults expressed that they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American, with a 56-point gap between Republicans (92% extremely or very proud) and Democrats (36%), Fox News Digital reported.
