New data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows that while arrests in North Carolina have surged since President Trump returned to office in January, the majority have occurred in jails, not in public. That's despite high-profile coverage of workplace raids and other enforcement actions on the streets.
ICE arrested more than 2,200 people in North Carolina since Trump took office, through late July. According to data obtained through the Deportation Data Project, the peak came in May and June, with more than 420 arrests each month.
But most of these arrests didn’t happen in public view.
Over 60% of people arrested were transferred from local jails to ICE through the Criminal Alien Program and 287(g) partnerships with sheriffs’ offices. That means a majority of people arrested were already in custody for criminal convictions or pending charges.
About 27% of all arrests made in North Carolina involved street operations at homes, job sites or traffic checks. Public arrests spiked in May and June, with around 150 people arrested each month in public.
More than half of those arrested since January had already been deported by late July.
