Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record 483,200 people in the 2026 fiscal year, according to Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by CBS News.
That is the highest annual total in ICE’s reported history, topping the previous record of 442,640 set in fiscal 2025, CBS News reported.
ICE also made more than 491,000 immigration arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests, another record. Administrative arrests are made for civil immigration violations rather than criminal charges.
According to DHS, the deportation total is about 18% higher than the 409,849 removals recorded in fiscal 2012 under the Obama administration, which had long been the agency’s benchmark.
The figures arrive at a politically complicated time. After Republican losses in the midterm elections, the president has publicly acknowledged that parts of his deportation campaign may have gone too far, CBS News reported, even as he elevated Stephen Miller, the architect of many of his immigration policies, to White House chief of staff.
CBS News polls have shown broad support for border security alongside growing discomfort with how immigration laws are enforced in communities.
In Arizona this week, ICE detained two Argentine acrobats at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, accused of overstaying their visas, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.
Sources: CBS News, FOX 10 Phoenix. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: usicegov / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
