The rising federal immigration raids across California have ignited strong protests, leading President Donald Trump to deploy troops to Los Angeles.
This has positioned the state as a noteworthy battleground in the administration’s deportation campaign.
However, despite the surge in arrests, California has not been the focal point of President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.
In the initial five months of his second term, California ranked behind the Republican strongholds of Texas and Florida in total undocumented immigrant arrests.
ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) data, analyzed by the Los Angeles Times via the Deportation Data Project, indicates that Texas recorded 26,341 arrests—accounting for nearly a quarter of all ICE arrests nationwide.
Florida followed with 12,982 arrests, while California documented 8,460.
In June, when federal immigration agents began conducting aggressive operations in Los Angeles, ICE arrested 3,391 undocumented immigrants—more than in Florida, but still about half of Texas’s total.
When considering population size, California falls to 27th place nationally, with a rate of 217 arrests per million residents—significantly lower than Texas’s 864 and less than many other states including Florida, Arkansas, and more.
The data, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, does not include arrests made after June 26 and lacks specific identifiers in 5% of the cases.
Nevertheless, it provides an important perspective on how federal immigration operations have unfolded across the country.
Experts believe that California’s status as the home to the largest undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. alongside a historic resistance movement contributes to the state’s lower arrest figures compared to Republican states.
Austin Kocher, a geographer and research assistant professor at Syracuse University specializing in immigration enforcement, noted, “The numbers are secondary to the performative politics of the moment.”
One significant factor for the higher arrest numbers in Republican-led states is their long-standing collaboration with ICE.
In states like Texas and Mississippi, local law enforcement often works hand-in-hand with federal agents, utilizing 287(g) agreements or identifying undocumented individuals in jails.
Data reveals that only 7% of ICE arrests in California this year were through the Criminal Alien Program, a stark contrast to Texas’s 55% and Florida’s 46%.
Other conservative states, despite their smaller populations, employed this initiative even more prominently: for instance, 75% of ICE arrests in Alabama and 71% in Indiana occurred in prisons and jails.
“State cooperation has been an important buffer in ICE arrests and ICE operations in general for years,” stated Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute based in Sacramento.
The contrasting legal frameworks between California and states like Texas and Florida lead to variations in which offenses are reported to ICE.
California focuses on serious felonies, whereas red states are more likely to report minor infractions.
Despite fewer arrests overall, California saw a dramatic rise in enforcement actions.
Between January and June, the state experienced a 212% increase in arrests compared to the months prior to President Trump’s inauguration, a remarkable trend that contrasted with a national increase of 159%.
Most of the federal immigration activity in California centered around Greater Los Angeles, where approximately 60% of ICE arrests during this period occurred.
From January to June, arrests in the Los Angeles area surged from 463 to 2,185, marking a staggering 372% increase—second only to New York’s increase.
Even though California’s arrest figures are lower than other states, the rapid ascent represents a notable challenge to the state’s sanctuary policies.
Experts argue that the increase in ICE activities carries special significance given the state’s lack of official cooperation and negative public sentiment toward immigration enforcement.
“An increase in areas with little cooperation is, in a way, more significant than seeing an increase where there is ample compliance,” Kocher emphasized.
As enforcement actions intensified in California, ICE had to adapt its methods.
Many undocumented immigrants arrested in the state previously had criminal backgrounds, but by June, the proportion dropped from 66% to 30%, signaling a shift in the profile of those being detained.
The controversial approach, seen by many as racial profiling, triggered strong community backlash.
According to Ron Gochez of Unión del Barrio Los Angeles, a group actively engaged in resisting ICE, statewide resistance is a pivotal reason for the relatively low arrest rates.
He asserted, “The organized resistance in Paramount, Compton, Bell, and Huntington Park has made a substantial impact.”
With activist groups patrolling from morning until night, they have confronted ICE agents in various localities and have been successful in community mobilization against raids.
“The resistance was strong… We’ve seen communities effectively defend against these incursions,” Gochez recounted.
The protests and organized resistance led President Trump to deploy the National Guard and Marines in June for the protection of federal personnel and property.
However, this strategy faced a setback when a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on July 11, limiting ICE agents’ ability to detain individuals based on characteristics such as race and vocation without reasonable suspicion of illegal status.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this ruling, prompting the Trump administration to seek intervention from the Supreme Court, asserting that it obstructs their immigration enforcement efforts.
As a direct result of this order, a noticeable drop in arrests occurred, particularly across Los Angeles.
Despite this slowdown, ICE continued to conduct raids in various localities including Home Depot outlets from Westlake to Van Nuys.
Trump administration officials have indicated that the slowdown in arrests does not represent a total shift in tactics.
“Sanctuary cities will face even greater enforcement as a consequence of their policies,” Tom Homan emphasized in a statement to the press.
U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino recently posted a social media video targeting Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
This video juxtaposed Mayor Bass’s statements about the failure of federal immigration enforcement policies with footage of federal agents conducting operations.
Bovino’s humor-laden post reflected a more aggressive attitude toward addressing the perceived opposition to enforcement efforts in California.
The deployment of additional federal resources underscores a continuing political strategy by the Trump administration aimed at demonstrating enforcement strength in California.
Ruiz Soto highlighted that the administration’s willingness to exert these resources raises significant questions about long-term implications for communities and the political landscape.
“If they really wanted to ramp up deportations, there are other places where they could do so more efficiently,” Ruiz Soto concluded.
The unfolding situation illustrates the complex interplay of immigration policy, community activism, and the outcomes of resistance against aggressive enforcement actions in California.
image source from：latimes
