What’s currently happening at the U.S.-Mexico border?

July 2026

Click the link to read an accurately represented, current report about migration dynamics and conditions at the border (released May 2026) https://www.strausscenter.org/publications/migration-dynamics-and-conditions-at-the-u-s-mexico-border-may-2026/

The trend in deportations from the U.S. has been increasing since 2025. According to the Washington Examiner last month, DHS officials told reporters they had carried out more than 900,000 deportations since January 2025.

Track Current Statistics for ICE Arrests & Detentions Here

  • ICE detained 277,913 people in 2024 and 66,886 people in 2025.
  • ICE deported 271,484 people in 2024, and 71,405 people in 2025, including 17,157 with a Criminal Conviction, 6,369 with Pending Criminal Charges, and 47,879 considered “other immigration violators”. 

There are currently more than 60,000 people being held in ICE detention. 

According to the Cato Institute (November, 2025), ICE has recorded the following starting the new fiscal year (October, 2025):

  • 73% of the people under ICE custody had NO criminal conviction
  • Nearly half of the population under ICE custody had NO criminal conviction or any pending criminal charges
  • 8% had a violent or property criminal conviction
  • ONLY 5% had a criminal conviction

Current conditions inside Camp East Montana (as of April 2026):

  • According to a new report done by ICE, there had already been 60 violations at this new detention center in Fort Bliss. These violations include a lack of proper medical attention to detainees dealing with certain medical conditions; a lack of proper and basic procedures to keep both guards and detainees safe; and detainees were not able to contact their lawyers for weeks.
  • As of mid-July 2026, at least 22 people had died under ICE custody, all across the U.S. (The Guardian) 
  • And as of July 2026, three people have died at Camp East Montana, one of whom was ruled a homicide by the El Paso Medical Examiner’s Office (Texas Tribune).
  • Currently, ICE is the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency, sitting at a $77 billion USD budget, which is expected to increase in the next few months. The House of Representatives has already passed the bill that would increase its funding, and it is now in the Senate, where it could still be blocked. If you want to prevent the increase, call your senators and urge them to oppose any increase to ICE’s budget. 

Sources: Migration Policy Institute (2025) U.S. Immigration Detention Grows to Record Highs under the Trump Administration, Immigration Detention in the United States by Agency, Cato Institute: ICE Detentions Data