ICE Arrests Climb as Republican Candidates Split on Deportations

Enforcement activity continues to expand, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement recording close to 51,000 arrests in August. That figure compares with 49,000 in July and 43,000 in June, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The Migration Policy Institute estimates 660,000 deportations occurred over the last fiscal year, short of the administration's annual goal of 1 million.

The political fallout began before those numbers were tallied. Arrests at the Mexican border hit a record 250,000 in December 2023, and Donald Trump campaigned on that surge. He also connected immigrants to crime and said they were consuming household pets. Enforcement later tightened under Joe Biden, and Trump added further restrictions after taking office.

Trouble surfaced during deportation operations. More than 2,000 federal officers arrived in Minneapolis, where tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest. Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37 and American citizens, died during encounters with agents. The White House later sidelined Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Arrests dipped after those killings, then climbed back to record levels.

Michael Pretti told reporters this week that bystander recordings of his son's death still trouble the family. Alex Pretti carried a holstered firearm he was permitted to have. No footage shows him pointing it at agents or attacking them in the moments before he was shot.

Opposition built earlier over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident deported to El Salvador despite a court order barring it. After the Supreme Court told the administration to help bring him back, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen went to El Salvador to see him. Before that, 46 House Democrats and 12 Democratic senators had voted for the Laken Riley Act, which requires detention without bond for noncitizens charged with murder and other violent crimes.

Republicans are not speaking with one voice. Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn has pledged more deportations in her race for governor. Florida Rep. Maria-Elena Salazar ran an advertisement criticizing the crackdown and wrote a bill that would let immigrants living without legal status stay if they have otherwise obeyed the law; Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans is among its sponsors. Former New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu, running for an open Senate seat, has objected to ICE tactics and the masks agents wear.

Trump blames Democrats for the crossings that occurred under Biden and says they would reopen the border if they win the midterms. Ohio Sen. Jon Husted has tied the issue to spending, attacking Democratic opponent Sherrod Brown over taxes and benefits that go to immigrants in the country illegally.

Democrats are answering with a mix of enforcement and criticism. Texas Senate candidate James Talarico wants more Border Patrol officers and surveillance technology, and he faults Biden's border record. Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed has also stressed strong borders.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the operations are working and argued that fewer crossings have made the border less visible as a political issue. Polling reviewed for this period shows voters disapproving of Trump's immigration approach while still giving him credit for border management.