From 250 to 600 arrests a day: Inside ICE’s dramatic expansion

TLDR:

• ICE use-of-force incidents jumped 353% in the first two months of the Trump administration
• Documents show 10 incidents involving broken vehicle windows and pepper spray
• ICE daily arrests more than doubled — from 250 to over 600 per day
• DHS blames rising officer resistance on “dehumanizing” anti-ICE rhetoric

ICE agents used force more than four times as often in the early weeks of the Trump administration compared to before, according to newly released government documents that offer a raw look at the friction accompanying the White House’s mass deportation push.

American Oversight, a left-leaning watchdog group, obtained the 352 pages of records through open-records lawsuits and reported a 353% increase in Homeland Security use-of-force incidents over the administration’s first two months.

The documents detail 10 incidents involving shattered vehicle windows and pepper spray deployments. They also reveal the scope of so-called “collateral arrests” — cases where officers pursuing specific targets ended up detaining others. In one March operation, 225 of 370 arrests were not intended targets.

The surge tracks a broader explosion in ICE activity. Daily bookings jumped from roughly 250 just before Inauguration Day 2025 to more than 600 by March.

DHS pushed back, saying rising resistance to its agents is fueled by inflammatory rhetoric.

“Comparing ICE day in and day out to the Nazi Gestapo…has consequences,” the department said.

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, said reforms are still needed. “I think the police are better trained,” Mr. Paul said.

Read more:

• ICE saw 353% increase in use of force after Trump took over