EXCLUSIVE — Arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants have soared to all-time highs in President Donald Trump’s second term, but the administration has faced significant hurdles maintaining its momentum in recent months, according to White House border czar Tom Homan, prompting some concerns from Trump’s base that his administration is abandoning promised mass deportations.Approximately 641,000 immigrants lacking permanent legal status have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal partners in 16 months, while more than 800,000 have been removed from the United States, Homan explained in a lengthy interview with the Washington Examiner at the White House complex this week.“Total of 800,000 [have been removed] out of the country,” Homan said. “If you take 60% of that, criminals, hundreds of thousands of public safety threats, have been removed from this country. Name another president who’s done that.”
White House Border Czar Tom Homan at the White House campus, on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner)
Democrats and some Republicans have criticized ICE for arresting immigrants lacking permanent legal status who have no criminal history in the U.S. On the other hand, many of Trump’s supporters are frustrated that more noncriminal immigrants have not been arrested, leaving Homan and the Department of Homeland Security in a difficult position.
