U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 483,200 people in fiscal year 2026, the highest total in the agency's history, according to Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by CBS News and reported on Thursday, November 12. The fiscal year ended on September 30, and the record was announced just days after voters handed Democrats control of the next Congress in the midterm elections — a result that has immediately turned the deportation numbers into a political fight over what happens next.
Source: CBS News figures via Demokratis
The 2026 deportation total is about 18 percent higher than the 409,849 deportations recorded in fiscal 2012 under President Barack Obama, and nearly 78 percent above the 271,484 reported in fiscal 2024, the final full fiscal year under President Joe Biden, according to the DHS figures. ICE also recorded 50,925 arrests in August 2026 alone, followed by more than 48,000 in September.
What the Homeland Security secretary said
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the campaign and praised the agency's performance. “I couldn't be prouder of the brave men and women of ICE, who just broke more historic records. Fiscal Year 2026 saw the highest number of ICE deportations and arrests for any year in ICE's history. September 2026 was the best September in ICE's history in terms of arrests,” Mullin said. He added that the total number of ICE arrests in fiscal 2026 was “more than all three full fiscal years under Biden combined.”
Source: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin statement
Speaking on Fox News on November 10, Mullin rejected any suggestion that the election result would change enforcement. “Zero change,” he said. “Amnesty will never be on the table.” He said the agency was continuing to deport approximately 3,600 people a day and warned that President Donald Trump would veto legislation the administration opposes: “The president has made it very clear he controls the veto.” Those comments came after Trump himself suggested his crackdown may have been “too tough” — and then named Stephen Miller, the architect of his hard-line immigration agenda, as his new White House chief of staff.
The 483,200 figure counts ICE deportations only. The Migration Policy Institute, counting ICE and Customs and Border Protection together, estimated about 980,000 deportations between January 20, 2025 and July 31, 2026, and an annualised pace of roughly 660,000 for fiscal 2026. Different totals measure different things — formal removals, voluntary departures and returns are not the same category.
Who is being arrested: the other half of the data
A Wednesday analysis by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) found that formal removals accounted for 63 percent of deportations during July and August 2026; the remaining cases involved voluntary departures and returns. A CBS News analysis found that more than half of ICE arrests in July 2026 involved people without criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, and that approximately 6 percent of people booked into ICE detention during Trump's second administration had convictions for violent crimes.
The Migration Policy Institute separately found that approximately 20 percent of the 980,000 deportations carried out by ICE and CBP between January 2025 and July 2026 involved people with criminal convictions. Among deported immigrants who had lived in the United States for at least two years, 71 percent had no criminal conviction, the institute found. For Punjabi diaspora families — including trucking families whose drivers cross state lines daily — the practical meaning of the data is that most enforcement contact now begins as a civil, administrative matter, not a criminal case.
Source: Migration Policy Institute fact sheet, October 2026
What is solid
- ICE deported 483,200 people in fiscal 2026, passing the fiscal 2025 record of 442,640, according to DHS figures obtained by CBS News.
- ICE made more than 491,000 arrests in fiscal 2026, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests.
- CBS News exit polling found 58 percent of midterm voters said enforcement had gone too far.
What is only claimed
- Whether the campaign mainly targets serious criminals: DHS says it prioritises the 'worst of the worst', while CBS and Migration Policy Institute analyses find most arrestees and deportees had no criminal conviction.
- How the totals should be counted: ICE-only figures (483,200) and combined ICE+CBP estimates (about 980,000 over 18 months) use different categories.
What happens next
Democratic lawmakers from progressive and moderate factions gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, November 11, calling for bipartisan legislation and protections for established immigrant communities. Representative Veronica Escobar of Texas said any comprehensive reform must be bipartisan because Democrats will not hold a Senate supermajority. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona said, “There is time still this session for a deal,” and Representative Sylvia Garcia of Texas pointed to the American Dream and Promise Act — which would create pathways to permanent residency for people brought to the country as children and for holders of temporary protections — as an immediate opportunity. Lawmakers also discussed the bipartisan Dignity Act, which has 35 Democratic and 20 Republican sponsors.
For now, the enforcement machine is not slowing: arrests have continued unabated since the election, in operations reported from California to Michigan to Massachusetts. The new Congress does not take office until January, the administration retains the veto, and DHS says its orders have not changed. Immigrant communities, including the Punjabi diaspora in California's Central Valley, New York, New Jersey, Texas and Washington state, should expect the current pace to continue while the legislative fight plays out in Washington.