ICE Quietly Delivers on Trump's Deportation Mandate

Aug 27, 2026
Jacob Grandstaff
Immigration & Borders | America First

Removals continue despite reduced visibility, proving results matter more than headlines.

After the high-profile withdrawal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations around Minneapolis, some conservatives wondered whether ICE had retreated from the work voters elected President Donald Trump to do. But not only has the agency not withdrawn from its core mission, it's boosted deportation numbers higher than at any point in this administration. The new strategy preserves political capital by avoiding media distractions.

Changing Tactics Not the Mission

Former Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) took over as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary in March, right after the fatal activist shootings and the subsequent drawdown of ICE's Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities. The media framed his appointment as a reset aimed at improving the department's image after weeks of intense public scrutiny.

This and a mundane statement by Mullin prompted large anonymous influencers to drive speculation that Mullin was reneging on Trump's promise to carry out "the largest deportation operation in American history."

But rather than slacking on Trump's deportation mandate, ICE simply stopped advertising each step to those eager to frame every arrest as a fascist takeover.

The images of masked agents doing the unpleasant but necessary work of removing non-violent illegal aliens were attracting unnecessary attention. Leftist activists and their media allies are always eager to amplify anything that casts immigration crackdowns in a bad light. After ICE agents killed two left-wing activists who violently interfered, the political capital required became too costly to maintain tactics. As Restoration News reported, even Irish citizens on the Right, who oppose mass immigration to their country, feared visiting America because of the propaganda the media had force-fed them about ICE.

Despite the more surgical approach, data show deportation numbers are up, and removal flights are increasing.

As of early April, ICE had recorded about 234,200 removals in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026—on pace to increase this year's removals by 50 percent over FY 2025. That climbed to 356,389 by mid-July, surpassing the pre-drawdown surges of January and February and implying a sustained rate of roughly 1,100–1,250 per day under Mullin. Additionally, independent monitors who track removal flights have found that those flights increased from 245 in April to 329 in July.

Meanwhile, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals bolstered Trump's immigration enforcement toolkit in June when it allowed Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to carry out expedited removal from anywhere in the country. Before, CBP only had that authority within 100 miles of the border.

DHS, which includes both ICE and CBP, offered Restoration News a department-wide tally.

"In President Trump's first year back in office, more than three million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of [his] administration's crackdown on illegal immigration including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations," a DHS spokesperson said via email. "As of August 4, we have now deported over one million illegal aliens and arrested over one million illegal aliens."

While the high-visibility raids have decreased, the continued detentions, processings, and actual removals demonstrate that the system is giving people what they voted for.

They're Still Going Back—But Quietly

Critics pretend any reduction in visible ICE activity means surrender to the mob. But that claim ignores the deportation numbers. Individuals who have no legal right to remain are still returning to their home countries in record numbers.

The previous DHS administration paired action with publicity. Focusing solely on action reflects an understanding that sustained, systematic removals over years matter more than weeks of dramatic footage that ultimately produce diminishing returns.

Negative media coverage of every enforcement action invites coordinated resistance, legal challenges timed for maximum delay, and public relations campaigns designed to exhaust political will. The lower-profile method Mullin's DHS has utilized reduces those secondary costs. It allows agents to work without every operation becoming a national spectacle.

In the end, the measure of success is not how often ICE appears in headlines or energizes voters who want illegal aliens gone. It is whether people who should not be here are leaving. Those results are still being delivered, but at a lower political cost. The agency continues to identify, detain, and remove individuals in accordance with the priorities set by the administration. The work is quieter by design, precisely so agents don't have to detain illegal aliens with one hand and fight off leftist radicals with the other.

MORE COVERAGE FROM RESTORATION NEWS

   Restoration News Exclusive—LinkedIn for Illegals: Undocuprofessionals Scrubbed Its Website—But Restoration News Has the Receipts

   The Deportations Will Continue: President Trump's Immigration Enforcement Agency Continues Deportations of Dangerous Illegal Aliens

   What Could Go Wrong: MICHIGAN: Democrats Insist Noncitizen Voting Isn’t a Problem. The Evidence Says Otherwise.

   Honor System Fail: Who Let the Illegal Alien Killer Out? And How Did He Get a Passport?

   Media Protects Illegals: 'A Milwaukee Man': How the Media Hides the Illegal Aliens Committing Crimes

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Restoration News, a project of Restoration of America, is your trusted investigative news source for the America First movement. As a rapidly growing conservative news site, we focus on delivering accurate and insightful exposés on political news, immigration news, leftist lies, and other pressing issues affecting everyday Americans. Our uncompromising commitment to a hard-hitting, fact-based, America First, and faithful perspective ensures that you receive news that aligns with your values. 

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Jacob Grandstaff is an Investigative Researcher for Restoration News specializing in election integrity and labor policy. He graduated from the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.

Email Jacob HERE

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