U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record 483,200 people in fiscal year 2026, the highest annual deportation total in the agency's history, according to figures obtained by CBS News from the Department of Homeland Security and reported on Thursday, November 12, 2026. The total beats the previous record of 442,640 set in fiscal 2025.

ICE also reported more than 491,000 immigration arrests during the same period, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests, setting another agency record. Together, the figures describe a year in which removals and arrests both reached historic levels, and in which the question of who is being deported, and why, has become one of the most contested issues in American politics.

Key Points

• ICE deported 483,200 people in fiscal 2026, the highest annual total in the agency's history.
• The figure beats the previous record of 442,640 set in fiscal 2025.
• ICE made more than 491,000 immigration arrests, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests, also a record.
• The deportation total was nearly 78 percent higher than the 271,484 recorded in fiscal 2024.
• CBS News reported that many of those arrested had no criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States.

What Happened

CBS News obtained the figures from the Department of Homeland Security and reported them on Thursday, November 12, 2026. They are the fullest public picture of the administration's enforcement year, because the department stopped publicly releasing detailed monthly enforcement figures in January 2025.

The pace stayed high through the summer: 50,925 arrests in August and more than 48,000 in September, with ICE officials told to target about 19,000 arrests a week. Not every deportation was a formal removal: Syracuse University found formal removals were 63 percent of reported deportations in July and August, with 37 percent voluntary departures or returns.

Background and Context

The record follows nearly two years of a crackdown that has reshaped federal enforcement. Since returning to office, President Trump has expanded ICE operations, sent federal agents into cities across the country, and used deportation flights as a visible symbol of the policy, backed by billions in extra funding in the 2025 tax and spending law.

In fiscal 2024, the last full fiscal year of former President Joe Biden's administration, ICE deported 271,484 people. The fiscal 2026 total is nearly 78 percent higher, a jump of more than 211,000 in two years. Fiscal 2025's 442,640 was already a record; fiscal 2026 beat it by more than 40,000.

The administration has highlighted serious criminal cases, including Raul Genesis Ortiz Moran, charged with second-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault over the death of a two-year-old girl in Virginia, and Soili Xiomara Aparicio-Santos, convicted of trying to murder her newborn son in New York.

ICE Deportations Record: What the Numbers Show

The headline figure, 483,200, is the largest in ICE history, and the arrest figure beside it, more than 491,000, is a record of its own. Nearly 475,000 of those arrests were administrative arrests, covering people held for immigration violations rather than a criminal offence. The monthly figures show the same scale: 50,925 arrests in August and more than 48,000 in September, after high-profile operations in Los Angeles and Chicago.

The three years show rapid escalation: 271,484 in fiscal 2024, then 442,640 in fiscal 2025, up about 63 percent, and 483,200 in fiscal 2026, up another 9 percent. The system expanded fast in the crackdown's first year, then kept growing even as the political costs began to show.

Reactions and Quotes

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised the agency's officers in a statement to CBS News. "I couldn't be prouder of the brave men and women of ICE, who just broke more historic records," Mullin said. "Thanks to President Trump's leadership, ICE has been unleashed to target and remove illegal aliens so that we can save American lives."

President Trump himself has struck a more mixed note. Speaking to CBS' "60 Minutes", he acknowledged that some enforcement may have gone too far. "I think it was too tough," Trump said, referring to deportations of longtime immigrants who worked and paid taxes. He gave his administration an "A+ for closing up the border" but acknowledged criticism over deporting otherwise law-abiding workers.

Exit polls found 58 percent of voters believed enforcement had gone too far, and Republicans suffered heavy losses in the November 3, 2026 midterms. Even so, enforcement is expected to continue, and Trump recently named immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff.

Why It Matters

The record matters first for its scale: nearly half a million people removed in one year has no precedent in American immigration enforcement, touching families, workplaces and communities in every state. It matters second for who is included: CBS News reported many of those arrested had no criminal convictions or pending charges, fuelling the argument that the crackdown now sweeps up longtime residents with jobs and families.

It also matters for transparency. The department stopped publishing detailed monthly figures in January 2025, so the public and Congress have relied on annual totals and leaks. The fiscal 2026 figures fill part of that gap, but not the key questions: how many deported had criminal records, how many lived in the US for years, and how many had a full hearing before a judge.

What Happens Next

The administration is expected to keep the pressure on. ICE officials have been told to aim for about 19,000 arrests a week, and with Stephen Miller now White House chief of staff, the policy has one of its most determined advocates at its centre. Funding in the 2025 law gives the agency the money to sustain the pace.

But the politics are shifting. Democrats, who won both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterms, take power in January, and immigration enforcement will face far tougher oversight, including hearings and demands for the detailed data the department stopped publishing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people did ICE deport in fiscal 2026? ICE deported 483,200 people, the highest annual total in the agency's history, according to figures obtained by CBS News from the Department of Homeland Security.

What was the previous record? The previous record was 442,640, set in fiscal 2025. The fiscal 2026 total beat it by more than 40,000.

How many people did ICE arrest? ICE reported more than 491,000 immigration arrests, including nearly 475,000 administrative arrests, also an agency record.

How does the total compare with fiscal 2024? The fiscal 2026 total was nearly 78 percent higher than the 271,484 deportations recorded in fiscal 2024, the final full fiscal year of the Biden administration.

Did everyone deported have a criminal record? No. CBS News reported many arrested had no criminal convictions or pending charges, and Syracuse University found 37 percent of reported deportations in July and August were voluntary departures or returns.

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