HOUSTON, Texas — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported on Friday that its teams in the Houston area are averaging about 100 arrests a day of people in the country illegally, according to a report summarising the agency's official post. The agency posted the figure alongside video from a NewsNation report in which a correspondent embedded with Houston-area teams: 'We are arresting about 100 illegal aliens a day in Houston, Texas,' the post stated. The figure is ICE's own claim and has not been independently audited.

Source: ICE official post, reported by RWT News, Oct. 24, 2026

NewsNation, which received an exclusive look at the tactics, reported that the team it accompanied apprehended four of its five targets before 11 a.m., the Objectivist summary of the NewsNation report said. Officers wore body cameras and badges and activated flashing lights when approaching targets, travelled in unmarked vehicles that ICE says are necessary for surveillance but were equipped with lights and sirens, and receive ongoing training, the report said.

Source: NewsNation embed, reported by The Objectivist, Oct. 23, 2026

In the first arrest NewsNation observed, a man from El Salvador was detained before he could enter his vehicle after officers conducted surveillance to establish his routine, the report said. ICE said the man had three DWI arrests, the most recent in 2024, and a final order of removal after missing a court date. The agency described stopping a target before that person enters a vehicle as safer for officers, the target and others, and called the detention a 'textbook arrest.'

In a second arrest, officers joined a county constable to apprehend a man from Mexico at the business where he worked, the report said. ICE said his history included a 2013 charge of enticing a minor, a DWI in 2006 and two arrests for driving without a licence, and that he too had been ordered removed after missing a court date. No victim was named in the reporting.

Bret Bradford, director of ICE's Houston Enforcement and Removal Operations field office, told NewsNation the agency prioritises the 'worst of the worst' but will not limit enforcement to people with criminal records. 'If you're in this country illegally, there's a consequence,' Bradford said. He said current rhetoric has 'emboldened these individuals to run, to flee, to evade arrest,' and he encouraged people eligible for voluntary departure to use the $3,000 cash incentive rather than wait for an arrest.

The Houston operations were shown as ICE defends its tactics amid scrutiny following two fatal shootings in July and two vehicular incidents this month, the NewsNation report noted. Lawmakers and local leaders have criticised officers in some cases for not identifying themselves during traffic stops or not wearing body cameras and have called for traffic stops to end, while the Department of Homeland Security says the stops are essential for targeted arrests. NewsNation observed officers wearing body cameras and identifying themselves as they approached targets.