Overview
- Tom Homan told the Washington Examiner this week that the administration has removed about 800,000 people and that deportation activity is “slightly down” from its recent pace because operations have slowed.
- Homan and federal figures say roughly 641,000 arrests were made in the interior over 16 months, a total officials say exceeds recent prior administrations’ interior arrest counts.
- Homan blamed the slowdown on recent court rulings, a prolonged DHS funding dispute and local policies that limit ICE access to jails, which officials say has constrained arrests and transfers into federal custody.
- The Department of Justice plans more lawsuits targeting sanctuary jurisdictions and the administration is preparing operational changes aiming to raise arrest numbers, while courts have both blocked and cleared parts of Trump-era tactics such as third‑country removals.
- The dispute matters for communities and case backlogs because limits on jail access and shifting detention rules affect who is arrested, how long people are held awaiting hearings, and how quickly removals can proceed.