Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been directed by agency leadership to boost their daily arrests in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections, according to a new report.
CNN reported this week, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that ICE leadership instructed agents to increase daily arrests by 1,000 people. The move would raise the daily goal to 3,000 arrests. One of the sources said the weekly target stands at 19,000 arrests.
ICE has reportedly been averaging roughly 2,000 arrests per day in recent weeks.
The agency has long denied that its agents operate under quotas, and a Homeland Security spokesperson pushed back on CNN’s reporting.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s leadership, ICE has been supercharged to find, arrest, and deport illegal aliens from the United States using every lawful tool available. This is promises made promises kept in action, and the results speak for themselves,” the spokesperson said.
The reported directive comes with the midterm elections just weeks away, and as the administration’s immigration policies have drawn growing criticism from the right.
Joe Rogan, once a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, has become a consistent critic of ICE’s tactics.
On Capitol Hill, some Republican lawmakers have also begun to voice concerns.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., recently broke with the president over his deportation policies. Salazar released a campaign ad in which she accused Trump of having “betrayed” Hispanic voters.
Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., is among the other Republican lawmakers who have criticized the administration’s approach. Last month, the senator said ICE needs to do a better job of acknowledging mistakes and recognizing when policies go too far.
“Before you know it, you get people that get carried away in their job and whatever it may be, and all of a sudden, then you’re dragging people away that have lived on your street corner for 15 years, and I don’t know that we need to be doing that stuff,” Justice said.
He added, “To get better, the first thing you got to do is admit you’re doing something wrong.”
The comments from Salazar and Justice reflect a broader shift among some on the right, as the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts face increasing scrutiny from voices that once stood firmly behind the president.
According to CNN’s sources, the new directive would push ICE well beyond its recent pace. Moving from around 2,000 daily arrests to a goal of 3,000 would represent a 50% jump in the number of people agents are expected to take into custody each day.
The Department of Homeland Security, however, has rejected the characterization of the effort laid out in CNN’s report. In its statement, the department pointed to the administration’s record on immigration enforcement, framing ICE’s work as the fulfillment of promises made by the president and saying the results speak for themselves.
ICE, for its part, has consistently maintained that its agents are not held to arrest quotas.
With the midterms fast approaching, the administration’s immigration policies remain a point of contention, including among some Republicans who have previously supported the president.
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