Texas cements its position as the leader of Trump’s anti-immigrant crusade with 20,000 arrests in five months

More than 20,000 migrants have been arrested in Texas by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency last January. This makes Texas the state with the most arrests in the last five months. The figure is double the number recorded in Florida (9,080) and triple the 5,860 registered in California, which rank second and third on the list.

According to ICE data published by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley, the current administration’s anti-immigrant campaign has resulted in approximately 95,000 arrests nationwide. The daily average is increasing: from approximately 300 last year to more than 660 currently, although it still falls short of the government’s goal of 3,000 per day. ICE failed to even achieve this goal after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller threatened in late May to remove regional directors of the agency who reported lower figures. After that, ICE’s strategy intensified, but they barely achieved an average of 1,100 arrests per day.

In most states, the number of arrests has increased compared to 2024. The largest increase is in Idaho, which has added just over 300 so far this year, representing a 924% increase over the 77 it made last year. Florida and California, meanwhile, have seen increases of 219% and 123%, respectively.

Texas arrests have increased by 92%. However, it leads by far in the total number of arrests. In June, for example, the ICE office in Dallas expelled 122 migrants with final deportation orders to China. Shortly before, the agency had arrested 16 undocumented immigrants hiding in a house in the city of Mercedes. “This operation underscores the crucial role the public and local law enforcement play in identifying and disrupting human smuggling operations,” said Special Agent Mark Lippa, who discovered the site following an anonymous tip.

The state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, is one of the strongest advocates of the president’s immigration policy, whom he often publicly supports. “Trump will provide a more secure border than any president in the history of the United States,” he declared shortly after his inauguration. Two months later, Texas legislators proposed a package of measures targeting people without legal status, which included imprisonment for those who transport them and prohibiting them from accessing public health and education services.

Also, under Abbott’s orders, Texas has strengthened collaboration with ICE through Operation Lone Star, which authorizes police officers to act as immigration agents, allowing them to detain undocumented immigrants and, in some cases, initiate deportation proceedings, although this remains a federal matter. Furthermore, the state has the largest number of immigration detention beds in the country. According to a study by Syracuse University, as of mid-June, 12,623 people were in immigration detention centers in Texas. This figure represents 22% of the more than 56,000 detainees reported nationwide at that time.

Currently, many asylum seekers are held for months in Houston detention centers without access to lawyers, as demand outstrips availability. A shortage of judicial personnel has led to delays in proceedings, and, according to local media, many of those arrested have not received an initial hearing.

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