(MENAFN) A media outlet has reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently detaining over 65,000 migrants — a figure that represents an unprecedented peak for the agency.

According to the coverage, apprehensions and removals have likewise reached extraordinary heights, with ICE conducting almost 1,200 arrests and more than 1,250 deportations per day beginning Oct. 1.

As noted by Rosemary Jenks, policy director at the Immigration Accountability Project, “They need to ramp it up,” the daily stated.

Jenks further stressed the importance of speeding up the process, stating, “There’s a big population that should be easier to remove, and we need to get to those and remove them. Americans are willing to support mass deportation, but it has to be mass deportation.”

Her remarks reflect a push for a more forceful and wide-reaching enforcement strategy.

The escalation in ICE’s activity is tied to updates for the current fiscal year, which had been postponed due to the government shutdown.

Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15, the agency documented 54,735 book-ins, while Customs and Border Protection registered 7,066 during the same period. These numbers indicate a substantial rise in operational tempo.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin emphasized the department’s increased capacity for housing detainees.

“With innovative partnerships like Alligator Alcatraz, Speedway Slammer, Louisiana Lockup and Cornhusker Clink, we’ve significantly expanded detention space,” she stated, pointing to new collaboration efforts that have boosted available accommodations.

Although ICE indicates that under 60% of current detainees have criminal convictions — a reduction compared to previous years — Jenks dismissed the significance of this shift.

“I couldn’t care less how many of them have committed extra crimes. We need to deport all of them,” she said, underscoring her stance that the distinction carries no meaningful policy weight.

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