The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, has carried out a record number of arrests over the past three months. In August alone, ICE made 50,925 arrests—more than in any previous month. This followed 50,208 arrests in July and nearly 44,000 in June. The rise in arrests is linked to a new directive requiring ICE offices across the country to arrest 2,000 people per day. In August, the agency averaged about 1,600 arrests per day, compared to around 1,000 before the mandate. ICE officials have said this level of activity is intended to become the new standard. Arrests have taken place in major cities such as Houston, New York, Memphis, San Francisco, and Atlanta. ICE has shifted tactics, focusing more on street-level arrests and working closely with local law enforcement and jails. These operations have included targeting individuals at airports, courthouses, and during ICE check-in appointments. This strategy marks a departure from previous efforts that focused more on large-scale raids in specific areas. The increase in ICE activity came after a shift in leadership within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following the deaths of two people in January in Minneapolis. These deaths sparked public protests in several cities, leading to changes in DHS leadership. Border czar Tom Homan took over from former Secretary Kristi Noem, and Gregory Bovino was removed from his role as Border Patrol commander. Since then, ICE operations have moved away from large-scale raids in Democratic-leaning cities. Data from the Deportation Data Project shows a significant rise in ICE arrests in several states. In Texas, 10,331 arrests occurred in July, compared to 5,787 in July 2022. Florida saw 5,501 arrests in July, up from 1,938 the previous year. Similar increases were reported in California, New York, and New Jersey—states that lean Democratic. In Memphis, a single raid in August resulted in 120 arrests. According to the Deportation Data Project, ICE has increasingly asked local jails to hold individuals on its behalf. There has also been a rise in arrests in areas where local police can assist with immigration enforcement. In July, 73.5% of those arrested by ICE had no criminal convictions, compared to 62.6% in the previous year. Fewer people had convictions for nonviolent or violent crimes this year than in 2022. Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, noted that ICE arrests have continued to rise "basically unabated" this summer.