The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) broke the record for the highest number of deportations and arrests in any fiscal year in 2026 (FY26), over 491,000 immigration arrests and 483,000 deportations.

It stated that in the fiscal year under review, “ICE carried out 483,200 deportations, which broke the record for the highest number of deportations in the agency’s history.”

 The DHS said. “This surpasses the previous record held by FY25, which saw 442,640 deportations. Fiscal Year 2026 alone dwarfed deportation and arrest numbers from the entirety of the Biden Administration. FY26’s deportation total is almost the same as all three full fiscal years under the Biden Administration (FY22, FY23, and FY24) combined, at 486,000. FY26’s total is also more than eight times the number of deportations in Biden’s first fiscal year, as FY21 saw just over 59,000 deportations.”

According to the DHS, FY26’s arrest total includes nearly 475,000 administrative arrests, which is by far the highest total in ICE’s history.

FY26’s arrest total is greater than the entirety of the three full fiscal years under the Biden Administration (FY22, FY23, and FY24) combined, at less than 427,000. It is also more than six times the number of arrests in Biden’s first fiscal year, as FY21 saw just over 74,000 arrests.

The DHS stated, “In the month of September, ICE carried out more than 48,000 arrests, as well as 44,000 removals. This arrest total represents a more than 300% increase over the average September during the Biden Administration.

“This follows several record-breaking months, with August shattering the record for the most illegal aliens arrested by ICE in a single month, at 50,925. This broke the previous record held by July 2026, which saw 50,208 illegal aliens arrested. The record prior to July was held by June 2026, when 43,900 illegal aliens were arrested.”

Also, the DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated, “I couldn’t be prouder of the brave men and women of ICE, who just broke more historic records. Fiscal Year 2026 saw the highest number of ICE deportations and arrests for any year in ICE’s history.

“September 2026 was the best September in ICE’s history in terms of arrests. The total number of ICE arrests in Fiscal Year 2026 was more than all three full fiscal years under Biden combined, as the patriots of ICE work around the clock to make America safe again. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, ICE has been unleashed to target and remove illegal aliens so that we can save American lives.”