AP Analysis: ICE Weekly Arrests Fell 11.7% After Minneapolis Killings — Arrests Surge in Kentucky, Indiana, NC, Florida

An Associated Press analysis of ICE arrest records from UC Berkeley's Deportation Data Project, published April 25, 2026, found that weekly ICE arrests fell from a 5-week pre-February average of 8,347 to 7,369 — an 11.7% national decline — following the late-January 2026 Minneapolis killings of two American citizens by federal agents and the subsequent drawdown of Border Patrol agents from Minnesota. Border czar Tom Homan announced the pullback from Minnesota on February 4, 2026, after the fatal shootings of Renée Good (January 7) and Alex Pretti (January 24) during ICE enforcement operations triggered a national political crisis and forced out Border Patrol's Minneapolis-area commander Gregory Bovino. Despite the national decline, arrests surged dramatically in at least four states — Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, and Florida — suggesting regional reallocation of ICE resources rather than a systemic enforcement pullback. The share of non-criminal arrests among total ICE arrests also declined slightly, from 46% to 41%. December 2025 had seen a peak of nearly 40,000 arrests nationwide in a single month. Separately, NBC News reported that DHS verbally instructed ICE field offices nationwide to stop entering homes without judicial warrants — a significant policy shift from the previous practice of using administrative warrants signed by ICE officers — and to curtail courthouse arrests. The policy changes reflect ongoing political sensitivity following the Minneapolis killings, though ICE has not published a formal written directive and the enforcement trends remain subject to change.