Although immigration agents have fallen short of President Donald Trump’s aggressive enforcement goals, arrests and deportations remain high nationally and in Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, immigration arrests have more than doubled under Trump, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data from September 2023 through July 2025.
The numbers peaked in June before falling slightly in July, but remain high compared to arrests made during the final 16 months of Biden’s presidency.
The analysis does not include arrests that did not result in detentions. This was far more common under the Biden administration, when immigrants reached the border and were processed by ICE before being released into the community under supervision, with future court dates.
The sharp rise in arrests shows how the Trump administration’s enforcement tactics are working in Wisconsin as ICE prepares to expand its operations with a new $170 billion nationwide budget.
Here’s what else to know:
Nationally, arrests increased significantly with a slight slowdown in July
Nationally, immigration arrests slowed down in July, but remain elevated compared to the first few months of the Trump administration and the end of the Biden administration.
In a Sept. 23 news release, the Department of Homeland Security said it was “on pace to shatter historic records” and deport nearly 600,000 undocumented immigrants since Trump took office.
According to Syracuse University professor and immigration enforcement researcher Austin Kocher, people without criminal records continue to be the largest group of people arrested by ICE. Under Biden, the largest group of people arrested were those with criminal convictions.
In Wisconsin, immigration arrests overall are up
From the time Trump took office in January through late July, ICE has made 543 arrests in Wisconsin, an average of almost three per day.
That is an average of 86 arrests per month under Trump, compared to 37 per month under Biden.
The makeup of ICE’s arrests in Wisconsin is changing
In the last 16 months of Biden’s presidency, more than 81% immigration arrests were of people with criminal convictions and 15% were of people with pending charges. Just 4% involved people without criminal records.
The makeup of ICE arrests is significantly different under Trump, with 64% involving people with criminal convictions, 25% involving those with pending charges, and 11% involving those without criminal records.
Surge in arrests of immigrants without criminal charges or convictions
In Wisconsin, the sharpest increase in ICE arrests has been of people without any criminal record whatsoever, whose only known offense is a civil immigration violation.
Under Biden, ICE made less than two of these arrests per month in Wisconsin. Under Trump, ICE makes an average of nine such arrests per month — a 488% increase.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that many immigrants without criminal records who were arrested have connections to violent gangs in other countries. However, reporting has cast doubt on those claims.
Arrests of immigrants with pending criminal charges also jumps under Trump
Under Trump, ICE averaged about 22 arrests per month of people with pending criminal charges, four times more than under Biden.
Local prosecutors have indicated that arresting people with pending charges sometimes leaves serious cases unresolved and victims without closure, especially if the defendant is deported before they face trial.
ICE arrests of people with convictions also increased, but not as much
ICE has also ramped up its arrests of undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions to about 55 per month — an 84% increase from the Biden administration.
ICE’s data does not specify the nature of the underlying convictions, which can range from violent felonies to misdemeanors, such as disorderly conduct.
For example, Milwaukee resident Ramón Morales-Reyes was convicted of disorderly conduct 29 years ago. He was arrested by ICE in May despite being the alleged victim and key witness in the upcoming trial of a man for armed robbery.
Eva Wen is a data reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at qwen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about ICE arrests in Wisconsin under Trump