US reports record deportations and arrests in 2026, as Trump acknowledges crackdown may be too tough

The total number of deportations breaks all records in ICE's 23-year history, exceeding the previous record of 442,640 set in 2025. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement, 'Fiscal Year 2026 saw the highest number of ICE deportations and arrests for any year in ICE’s history. September 2026 was the best September in ICE’s history in terms of arrests.' ICE reported more than 48,000 arrests in September, following record highs of 50,925 in August.

Trump, in a recent interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, said his administration's immigration policies 'might be too tough' but defended his performance: 'For getting people out, I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out; I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation or breaking of the law that was they came into the country illegally.' Trump's approval rating on immigration has fallen to 38 percent from 50 percent at the start of his presidency, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, said there is 'no question the administration has increased enforcement more than any prior president' and noted evidence that the illegal immigrant population has declined due to increased out-migration linked to fear of enforcement. However, he highlighted ambiguity in the figures, saying he could not determine what percentage involved interior enforcement, removals from the interior of the United States, or people turned around at the border or an airport.

Democrats, set to take control of Congress next year, are planning to target ICE tactics and expand paths to legal status. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and incoming chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement: 'We will investigate the administration weaponising DHS against Americans (and) its out of control immigration policies.'

At a news conference, Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar said he had already spoken with Trump officials about focusing deportation efforts on criminals. 'We’re not going to be extreme,' Cuellar said, nodding to conservative voters who cast ballots for Democrats. But Senator-elect Peggy Flanagan took a firmer tone after winning in Minnesota, where federal immigration agents shot and killed two US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, in January during an enforcement surge. 'We will rip ICE apart,' Flanagan said while celebrating her victory. The shootings, caught on bystander video, have prompted international outrage, with other footage showing masked agents deploying chemical agents and beating civilians.