Federal immigration agents opened more case files on newly detained people than in any other month of Donald Trump's second term this past July, booking in excess of 46,000 individuals on civil immigration violations, internal Department of Homeland Security figures show. CBS News obtained the preliminary data, which the government itself has not released. The violations counted are civil, not criminal — unlawful entry, overstayed visas, and similar infractions — and the tally arrives as the agency pushes deeper into airports, check-in offices, and residential blocks nationwide.
This marks the second straight month enforcement numbers have topped themselves. July's count moved past the roughly 43,000 people booked in June, which had been the previous high-water mark for the administration at that point. That upward trend traces back to December 2025, when bookings tied to the Minneapolis-centered Operation Metro Surge lifted the monthly figure above 42,000. Officers averaged close to 1,500 bookings a day last month — a fast clip, though still under the 2,000-a-day benchmark the White House has reportedly asked the agency to hit. Some of the people counted were initially flagged by Customs and Border Protection before being transferred into ICE custody.
