(UNITED STATES) The Trump administration has escalated immigration enforcement across the United States 🇺🇸 in 2025 with a broad mix of military deployment, cross-agency support, and aggressive detention tactics that have touched hundreds of thousands of people. As of mid-September, officials have pushed what they call a “maximalist” approach, concentrating resources in major cities while widening legal authority for arrests and removals.
CNN reported that ICE had deported nearly 200,000 people in the seven months since President Trump returned to office, marking one of the largest early-year totals on record. At the same time, arrests have not met internal targets, and legal challenges have blocked parts of the plan.
Military support and cross-agency expansion
In July, the Department of Defense increased uniformed support for immigration enforcement, raising the total number of authorized personnel assisting ICE from 1,200 to 1,700. Officials rotated in National Guard units and deployed Marines and Naval Reserve personnel to back field operations.
The Cato Institute reported in September that more than 25,000 federal, state, and local officers had been reassigned to immigration enforcement; 14,498 came from federal agencies, and 8,501 from state and local police. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this reallocation pulled manpower from day-to-day policing and other public safety tasks, forcing local governments to adjust priorities.
The administration’s reach extended deep into the federal system:
- On January 23, acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman granted “the functions of an immigration officer” to multiple Justice Department agencies, including:
- the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),
- the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF),
- and the U.S. Marshals Service.
- The Postal Inspection Service began cooperating with enforcement efforts in April.
- In August, President Trump froze training programs for non-ICE federal agencies through year’s end to free up resources for immigration hiring.
The Department of Homeland Security also rolled back Obama-era limits on enforcement in “sensitive locations” on January 22, 2025, clearing the way for operations at hospitals, places of worship, courthouses, schools, and even during funerals and weddings.
A day later, on January 23, 2025, ICE launched coordinated raids across Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Miami, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., detaining 538 people. These actions marked a clear shift toward operations in and around sanctuary jurisdictions.
Detentions, legal fights, and human impact
Arrests surged early in the year. ICE recorded 32,809 arrests between January 20 and March 10, 2025, and the average daily population in custody rose from just over 41,000 at the start of the year to 46,269 by mid-March.
Internal arrest goals were ambitious:
- President Trump initially pushed for 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day.
- Actual arrest rates hovered around 800 per day after the inauguration.
- Rates fell to fewer than 600 by February, at which point ICE stopped publishing daily statistics.
- In May 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and senior adviser Stephen Miller urged ICE to raise targets to 3,000 arrests per day.
Legal changes and challenges:
- On March 14, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive permitting officers to enter migrants’ homes without warrants. That policy drew lawsuits but remained in place as of September.
- The administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act to speed deportations with limited due process, but federal judges and the Supreme Court blocked some measures — including parts tied to imprisonment arrangements with El Salvador.
- The White House explored reopening the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to hold potentially tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants, but logistical hurdles and legal objections stalled that plan.
Human impact and family separation:
- In March 2025, ICE began holding parents and children together at a Texas facility; the first group included three minors.
- Reuters reported in February 2025 that ICE planned to track more than 600,000 people who entered the country as children without parents, including many who later reunited with family.
- The American Civil Liberties Union documented cases where U.S. citizen children were swept into the system. One reported case involved a family from Louisiana with children ages four and seven; one child had rare metastatic cancer and was deported without medication or contact with treating doctors, despite ICE being alerted to the urgent medical needs.
Effects on people with legal status and students:
- In May 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to revoke protections for 350,000 Venezuelans — described as “the largest single action stripping any group of non-citizens of immigration status in modern U.S. history.”
- On March 25, 2025, the State Department instructed consular officers to deem visa applicants ineligible if their social media showed support for what officials defined as terrorist activity. By April 9, Inside Higher Ed tracked 419 students and recent alumni from more than 80 schools who lost visas.
Economic, public safety, and social consequences
Economic effects:
- Business leaders in farming, construction, and hospitality reported labor shortages tied to fear of raids and worker losses.
- Economists projected broader impacts: analysts at the Brookings Institution and the Peterson Institute for International Economics projected the plan would likely cut jobs for U.S.-born workers and yield no growth, with some estimates showing a possible 4.2%–6.8% drop in GDP.
- The American Immigration Council estimated a “highly conservative” price for removal operations at least $315 billion, or $967.9 billion over ten years, warning the plan would be unworkable without large outdoor camps.
Public response and civic effects:
- Public attitudes shifted during the year: while roughly one-third of Americans backed full removals in 2016, support rose to a majority at the start of President Trump’s second term in January 2025. By April, several polls found most respondents believed the deportations had gone “too far.”
- Lawyers, judges, and legal scholars questioned the scope of the approach, noting mistaken arrests and removals of American citizens and a large share of non-violent cases.
- Local governments adapted: officials redirected police on short notice to join federal teams, producing gaps in routine policing.
- Health providers and school leaders reported confusion after the rollback of protections for hospitals and campuses, as parents weighed care and attendance against the risk of detention.
- Community groups organized “know-your-rights” briefings and tracked arrests at or near courthouses and shelters.
Operational backbone and resources
The operation’s backbone remains a large enforcement apparatus built on:
- military assistance,
- cross-deputized agencies,
- and broad legal directives.
ICE continues to run core removal activities through its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arm; agency guidance on operations is available at the official ERO page: ice.gov/ero.
Officials argue these tools are necessary to restore order. Critics counter that the approach sweeps too widely, costs too much, and places children and the sick in harm’s way.
As of September 15, 2025, the campaign stands as the most extensive deportation drive in modern U.S. history, by both scale and scope.
The combination of military deployment, cross-agency authority, and expanded arrest powers has redrawn the bounds of immigration enforcement. Whether courts, budgets, and public opinion allow the strategy to hold through the end of the year will shape daily life for:
- mixed-status families,
- employers trying to fill shifts,
- and school and hospital systems seeking to deliver basic services while raids continue.
This Article in a Nutshell
In 2025 the Trump administration implemented a large-scale escalation of immigration enforcement, combining military deployment, cross-agency authority, and expanded detention powers. By mid-September, ICE had deported nearly 200,000 people and conducted coordinated raids in major cities, detaining hundreds. The Department of Defense increased authorized personnel supporting ICE from 1,200 to 1,700, while more than 25,000 federal, state, and local officers were reassigned to enforcement duties. DHS revoked Obama-era protections for sensitive locations, and Justice and DHS directives broadened warrantless entries and cross-deputization. The campaign strained local policing, health and education services, and the economy, prompting lawsuits, legal challenges, and widespread civic response. The long-term viability of the strategy hinges on legal rulings, fiscal costs, and shifts in public opinion.
