ICE reports arrests have increased nearly 40 percent since Trump immigration order

An immigration detainee sits in a California jail.

(Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

published 17 May 2017

Arrests of undocumented immigrants have increased 37.6 percent since President Trump signed an executive order on immigration enforcement, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Wednesday. Since the order was signed 100 days ago, ICE reported that it "has arrested more than 41,000 individuals who are either known or suspected of being in the country illegally." In the same period of time in 2016, just over 30,000 arrests were made.

ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan said the jump reflects its "clear direction to focus on threats to public safety and national security, which has resulted in a substantial increase in the arrest of convicted criminal aliens." ICE reported that "nearly 75 percent of those arrested" are "convicted criminals."