ICE Arrests Fall Below 1,000/Day After Minnesota Pullout; Criminal Arrest Share Rises

ICE data published the week of April 10, 2026 showed the agency booking fewer than 1,000 migrants per day after pulling out of Minnesota — a sharp drop from the peak of Operation Metro Surge, which at its height produced over 1,400 removals per day. National detention population stood at 60,311 on April 4, down from more than 70,000 at the January peak. Newly confirmed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin had paused further warehouse detention center purchases to review the portfolio left by his predecessor Kristi Noem. Despite the overall volume drop, the ratio of book-ins with criminal records or pending charges rose to roughly 65%, up from about 56% during Metro Surge — suggesting a tactical shift toward higher-conviction-rate targets in the wake of political backlash over the Minneapolis deaths. FOIA data on Operation Metro Surge showed that fewer than 25% of the 3,789 people arrested in that operation had a criminal record.