Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record 483,200 people in fiscal year 2026, according to new Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by CBS News, marking a historic escalation in President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The total is the highest annual figure in ICE’s history, surpassing the previous record of 442,640 in fiscal year 2025. ICE also reported more than 491,000 immigration arrests during the fiscal year ending September 30, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests — another record.
The numbers underscore a defining feature of Trump’s second presidency: a sweeping enforcement campaign that has expanded the federal law enforcement footprint into communities far from the border.
The Admission
Following sweeping Republican losses in the midterm elections, Trump has publicly acknowledged that parts of his deportation campaign may have gone too far.
“I think it was too tough,” Trump told “60 Minutes” correspondent Ross Douthat.
That admission was coupled with a decision to elevate Stephen Miller, the architect of many of his most restrictive immigration policies, to White House chief of staff.
The Reality
The administration has defended its campaign as a public safety mission, highlighting arrests of people accused of serious crimes. But an August CBS News analysis found that in July 2026, for the first time during Trump’s second term, more than half of ICE arrests involved immigrants who had neither criminal convictions nor pending criminal charges.
The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute found that only about 20 percent of approximately 980,000 deportations carried out collectively by ICE and CBP between January 2025 and July 2026 involved someone with a criminal conviction. Among deported immigrants who had lived in the US for at least two years, 71 percent had no criminal conviction.
According to CBS News national exit polling from the 2026 midterms, 58 percent of voters said the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement had gone too far.
The Future
Multiple administration officials tell CBS News that they do not expect the crackdown to slow down following the election. ICE officials have been instructed to aim for approximately 19,000 arrests per week.
The targets come as Democrats prepare to take control of both chambers in January. But their ability to force changes could be constrained by the billions already appropriated to ICE, in addition to presidential veto power.
The Bottom Line
ICE deported a record 483,200 people in fiscal year 2026. Trump has admitted the crackdown was “too tough.” He then promoted Stephen Miller, the architect of the crackdown, to chief of staff. Exit polls show 58 percent of voters believe enforcement went too far. The administration is not slowing down.
My Opinion
Trump admitted it. He said it out loud. “I think it was too tough.” He said that after his party got crushed at the polls. He said that after 58 percent of voters told exit pollsters that his immigration enforcement went too far. He said that after deporting 483,000 people, more than half of them with no criminal record. He said it because he had no choice.
Then he promoted Stephen Miller.
That is the admission and the punchline in the same breath. Trump knows the crackdown went too far and his response is to put the man who designed it in charge of the White House.
The numbers are staggering. 483,200 deportations. Nearly half a million arrests. And the vast majority of those people were not criminals. They were people who had lived in this country for years, paying taxes, and raising families.
