The Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has produced a massive plummet in the number of border crossings — but the Trump administration has struggled to meet their ambitious interior arrest goals, according to government data and officials.
Border Patrol encounters have dropped to fewer than 230 migrants daily, down from over 11,000 under the Biden administration, Border Czar Tom Homan reported Monday.
However, ICE interior arrests have declined from about 800 per day in late January to fewer than 600 in early February, falling well short of the administration’s 1,200-1,500 daily target.
Homan and ICE will need to improve by three times their current rate to get close to their goal by the end of the year.
“I’m not happy. We need more,” Homan said Thursday on Newsmax.
The slowdown has already led to leadership changes, with ICE’s top two enforcement officials removed this week.
After the arrests, there is a logjam of legal quagmires that the Trump administration has also struggled to address. Detention facilities are nearing capacity limits, with occupancy rising from 39,238 to 41,169 in mid-February against a total capacity of 41,500.
The administration has begun transferring some detainees deemed dangerous to Guantanamo Bay, where 112 immigrants are currently held. There are plans to expand that holding facility’s capacity to 30,000.
Critics weighed in on the Trump administration’s slow rollout of their promised mass deportation crackdown.
“I see a lot of show,” said Jason Houser, former ICE chief of staff under Biden. “This administration wants to continuously bring in every piece of the government away from their mission.”
New detention data reveals 59% of the 4,422 new detainees in early February had prior criminal convictions or pending charges. But only 13% qualify for expedited removal, while 87% face longer proceedings in an immigration court system that is already swamped with 3.6 million cases.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin defended the arrests, and said that even illegal immigrants caught without prior criminal records are often “far from innocent.”
Republican Party leaders have struggled with their shortfalls.
Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday that Homan was “begging” for additional funds during recent meetings with lawmakers.
The committee has adopted a $175 billion blueprint for enhanced border security and immigration enforcement.
Pew Research showing 59% overall support for increased deportation efforts. While the strong majority of Republican and Independent voters support the aggressive enforcement of immigration laws, opinion splits along party lines with just 33% of Democrats approving.
“We’re pulling out all the stops, they’re looking into the nooks and crannies of the law to figure out what they can pull from, including sections that haven’t been used in decades at least,” said Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former DHS official under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.