NEW YORK CITY— ICE arrests across the City surged this summer, with the sharpest increases coming among people who had no criminal record or pending criminal charges, according to a new analysis of federal data.
In the New York City area, ICE arrested 919 people in July, nearly twice the 467 arrested in April, when arrests reached their lowest level of the year.
More than three-quarters of those arrested in July had no criminal history.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, however, accused the Deportation Data Project of "cherry-picking" the data and maintained that the administration continues to pursue the "worst of the worst" criminals.
ICE arrested 1,033 people in the City in June 2025, the highest monthly total recorded since at least October 2022.
Arrests surged again last fall, reaching 992 in November.
The surge comes as the Trump administration has expanded immigration enforcement and adopted new tactics to accelerate deportation proceedings.
Those measures include holding mass immigration court hearings involving hundreds of cases, allowing federal funding for lawyers representing immigrant children to expire and ending Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who had been allowed to remain in the United States.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $7.25 million in state funding to provide legal services for about 1,400 unaccompanied immigrant children and young people facing active removal proceedings, including more than 250 children who are currently detained.
New York increased funding for the broader immigrant-services system. The state reported the Office for New Americans has nearly $87 million in funding this year, a 27 percent increase from last year.
The office operates a hotline, provides rapid legal assistance and conducts know-your-rights trainings through a statewide network of community organizations.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the City has committed $153 million to legal representation for immigrants and expanded know-your-rights outreach in dozens of languages.
State lawmakers have also moved to limit the role of local law enforcement in federal immigration enforcement.
Earlier this year, Hochul signed legislation prohibiting state and local governments, police departments and correctional agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements with the federal government. Those agreements allow local law enforcement agencies to participate directly in federal civil immigration enforcement.
The law took effect Tuesday.
But, New York's effort to restrict local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement has another complication: Operation Stonegarden.
A New York Focus investigation published Friday found that local law enforcement agencies in upstate border counties have helped Border Patrol make immigration arrests through the federal program, which pays local departments for special patrols along New York's northern border.
New York Focus reviewed records from dozens of requests and found that deputies on Stonegarden patrols helped Border Patrol arrest at least 24 people for immigration reasons since 2023.
In Oswego and Jefferson counties, deputies reported turning over 23 people to Border Patrol for immigration reasons between 2023 and May of this year.
The records also identify another 21 people who deputies turned over to Border Patrol without specifying the reason, leaving open the possibility that additional immigration arrests occurred.
Hochul has continued to support Operation Stonegarden even as her administration has moved to prohibit formal 287(g) agreements with ICE.
After New York Focus presented its findings to Hochul's office, a spokesperson said the governor would continue supporting local law enforcement and border security while maintaining that the administration would not assist ICE with federal civil immigration enforcement.
That issue has become central to legislation introduced by Rep. Grace Meng, whose Queens district includes large immigrant communities.
Nearly half of Queens residents are foreign-born. The City's 2026 Newest New Yorkers report counted about 1.09 million foreign-born residents in Queens in 2023, or 48.4 percent of the borough's population.
Meng said the NYPD will continue working with ICE on cases involving dangerous criminals, but warned that broader immigration enforcement could pull local officers away from addressing crime in their communities.
"That's not something that keeps our community safe," Meng said.
Meng's ICE Badge Visibility Act would require immigration agents to display identifying information when carrying out enforcement actions.
She said ICE agents have approached people without identifying themselves since the start of last year.
"So any given person doesn't know if you're really a law enforcement officer or if you're just some thugs pretending to be a law enforcement officer, and it's frightening for everyone," Meng said.
Meng also introduced the Safe Check-Ins for Immigrants Act, which would allow certain immigrants required to report for ICE appointments to complete those check-ins virtually.
She said residents have told her they are afraid to appear for appointments at places such as 26 Federal Plaza because they fear being detained despite complying with the law.
"They're scared to take part in a legal check in because they're scared that they're going to get taken by ICE without legal basis," she said.
Neither bill has advanced out of committee in the Republican-controlled House.
Queens and Brooklyn have some of New York City's largest immigrant populations, making them central to the effects of increased immigration enforcement.
Brooklyn had about 920,000 foreign-born residents, or 35.9 percent of its population.
| Neighborhood | Foreign-born residents | Foreign-born share |
|---|---|---|
| Flushing-Murray Hill | 95,730 | 66.6 percent |
| East Flatbush | 74,617 | 47.5 percent |
| Gravesend | 68,610 | 50.8 percent |
| Elmhurst | 66,452 | 65.6 percent |
| Washington Heights | 66,273 | 44.1 percent |
| Corona | 64,776 | 60.5 percent |
| Sunset Park | 59,513 | 47.4 percent |
| Jackson Heights | 56,171 | 59.5 percent |
| Bensonhurst | 54,477 | 56.7 percent |
| South Ozone Park | 46,126 | 56.9 percent |
| Flatbush | 45,490 | 41.9 percent |
| University Heights-Morris Heights | 42,278 | 43.0 percent |
| Forest Hills | 41,229 | 45.0 percent |
| Canarsie | 37,061 | 44.7 percent |
| Jamaica | 33,632 | 58.6 percent |
| Richmond Hill | 32,548 | 56.7 percent |
| Sheepshead Bay | 32,242 | 49.3 percent |
| Ridgewood | 29,158 | 42.7 percent |
| Woodside | 28,845 | 60.2 percent |
| Queens Village | 28,650 | 51.0 percent |
Source: New York City Department of City Planning, The Newest New Yorkers, 2026.
At an August rally in Corona Plaza, hundreds of activists and elected officials gathered to warn residents about the reported increase in ICE activity and explain their rights.
A New York Immigration Coalition spokesperson said the group had identified at least 20 incidents involving ICE agents in Queens during a two-week period.
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