📅 Date: September 22, 2026
📰 Source: CNN
📌 Topic: ICE arrests, immigration detention, deportations and deaths
The Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement campaign has produced a sharp increase in arrests and immigration detention, while deportations have also accelerated, according to data compiled and analyzed by CNN.
The data provide a broad look at the scale of the administration’s immigration crackdown, tracking arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the number of people held in detention, deportations and deaths involving people in immigration custody. CNN’s analysis found that immigrant detention has risen substantially since the beginning of the second Trump administration.
One major issue highlighted by the data is the number of people being detained who do not have criminal convictions. Data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, cited in CNN’s analysis, indicate that a large share of people arrested by ICE did not have criminal convictions. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed that characterization, saying that many detainees have been convicted of or charged with crimes, including cases involving pending charges.
The expansion of detention has also been accompanied by a rise in deaths in ICE custody. KFF reported that ICE recorded 46 deaths among people in its custody or detention facilities from January 2025 through March 18, 2026. KFF noted that the number of deaths during 2025 was higher than any annual total seen in more than two decades.
CNN’s tracking also includes deaths involving encounters with immigration-enforcement officers. According to the CNN-based data compilation, at least 20 people had been shot by on-duty ICE or Customs and Border Protection agents during the second Trump administration as of the analysis. The circumstances varied from case to case, and investigations into individual incidents remain separate from the broader statistical picture.
Medical care inside immigration detention has become another focus of scrutiny. KFF’s analysis found that many deaths involved people with existing medical conditions whose health complications worsened while they were in custody or after being transferred to hospitals. ICE and DHS have disputed claims that inadequate medical care has caused a broad increase in deaths.
The immigration enforcement system is also facing new questions about transparency. AP reported this week that ICE stopped publicly displaying the locations of thousands of detainees who have final removal orders, a change that took effect September 15. Immigration lawyers and advocacy organizations say the change can make it harder for families and attorneys to locate detainees and pursue last-minute legal challenges.
The administration says its enforcement campaign is focused on removing people who are in the United States unlawfully and those it considers public-safety or national-security concerns. Critics, immigration attorneys and human-rights organizations have raised concerns about due process, detention conditions, access to lawyers and the treatment of people without criminal convictions.
The data illustrate the scale of the immigration enforcement campaign but do not by themselves establish the cause of individual deaths or determine whether a particular arrest, detention or use-of-force incident was lawful. Those questions generally depend on the facts and investigations surrounding each case.
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📷 Photo note: The images above are representative visuals related to ICE enforcement and immigration detention. Verify individual image licensing and required photo credit before republication.
