ICE Seeks More Arrests: Aims for 3,000 Daily Detentions

• CNN reports ICE instructions to increase daily arrests from around 2,000 to a goal of 3,000
• DHS denies the existence of quotas
• The agency seeks to expand temporary spaces

ICE is seeking more arrests. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) wants to increase by approximately 1,000 the number of immigrants it arrests each day.

According to a CNN investigation, ICE commanders gave verbal instructions to agents across the country to return to a goal of 3,000 daily arrests, compared with a recent average of around 2,000.

ICE is seeking more arrests amid an expansion of its operations and concerns from some Republicans about the tactics being used and the people being detained. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), meanwhile, maintains that there are no mandatory quotas.

The reported numerical goal does not mean the agency has already reached that level. CNN noted that ICE previously struggled to meet the same target when the White House pushed for it.

ICE Seeks More Daily Arrests: An Increase of 1,000 Detentions per Day

«We’re going after the worst of the worst every day. Every day. Our goal is to get them off the streets. If the politicians who defend sanctuary policies refuse to take care of their own streets, President Trump has made it clear: we will». — @SecMullinDHS

— ICE en Español (@ICEespanol) October 9, 2026

The instructions were communicated on Tuesday, October 6, according to reporting by Priscilla Alvarez and Michael Williams for CNN. Two sources familiar with the directive described a request from ICE to increase daily arrests and reach 19,000 per week.

Going from around 2,000 daily arrests to 3,000 would represent an increase of approximately 50%. This compares the recently reported average with the proposed goal and does not mean such an increase has already occurred.

The weekly figure is not simply 3,000 multiplied by seven days. According to CNN’s sources, it accounts for lower activity on weekends, when fewer agents are deployed.

DHS Denies Quotas Despite Reported ICE Arrest Goals

In a statement to CNN, a DHS spokesperson denied that arrest quotas exist. The department said that under President Donald Trump and Secretary Markwayne Mullin, ICE has the legal tools to locate, arrest, and deport immigrants who are not authorized to remain in the United States.

Officials cited by the network described the figures as operational goals. The distinction between the two versions centers on how the pressure to increase arrests is characterized: CNN reports numerical targets communicated to agents, while DHS rejects describing them as quotas.

Therefore, the reported internal directive should not be confused with a new immigration law or with a deportation order that automatically applies to every person arrested.

Monthly Arrests Have Also Increased

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CNN News Central correspondent Priscilla Alvarez reported that ICE recorded around 46,000 arrests in July and 51,000 in August. Those figures show the recent increase in the agency’s enforcement activity.

The data refers to arrests, not the number of deportations carried out. The reported instruction seeks to accelerate the pace of detentions, and whether the agency reaches that target will have to be evaluated using later data.

ICE Seeks More Daily Arrests: Questions About Who Is Being Detained

The increase comes just weeks before the November midterm elections. According to CNN, some Republicans have expressed concern about ICE operations and the detention of immigrants without criminal records.

Alvarez cited Florida Representative María Elvira Salazar, who said that 50% of the people she was referring to who had been arrested had no criminal record. Her statement does not constitute a nationwide breakdown of all ICE arrests.

For immigrant communities, the central issue is the scope of enforcement operations: not having a criminal record does not automatically exempt someone from immigration enforcement.

More Space to Process and Detain People

CNN also reviewed a contract solicitation seeking temporary spaces at agency offices. The document links the need for additional infrastructure to the rising pace of arrests.

The search for contractors accompanies the reported arrest goals, but it does not mean all of those facilities are already operational. While DHS continues to reject the characterization of the targets as quotas, the available information points to an effort by ICE to increase both arrests and its capacity to process people taken into custody.

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