ICE Operations Launch: 956 Arrests in Single Day, Quotas Set at 1,500/day

Event Summary

On January 27, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted systematic mass arrest operations across the United States, detaining 956 people in a single day—marking the beginning of the Trump administration's campaign promise to conduct the "largest deportation operation in American history."

Daily arrest quotas were set at 1,200-1,500 arrests per day, representing a 425-530% increase from the Biden administration average of 282 arrests per day in fiscal year 2024.

Key Launch Events:

January 27: 956 arrests in nationwide operations, largest single-day total at that point
January 28: Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem personally led an ICE raid in New York City, posting video on social media to demonstrate administration commitment

Scale and Systematic Nature

287(g) Program Expansion:

January: 135 agreements (local police deputized as ICE agents)
June: 649 agreements
December: 1,200 agreements
Result: 887% increase in local police acting as immigration enforcement

Worksite Raids:

Over 40 worksite raids in first 7 months of 2025
1,100+ arrests in workplace enforcement operations
Shift from Biden-era focus on employers to Trump-era focus on workers

Funding Surge:

July 4, 2025: "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" signed
ICE received more funding than any federal law enforcement agency in US history, exceeding entire federal prison system budget
$50,000 sign-on bonuses and $60,000 college loan forgiveness offered to police officers joining ICE
100,000 detention bed capacity funded (Project 2025 goal)

Detention Population Explosion:

August/September: ICE detention population reached 60,000—highest ever recorded

Enforcement Tactics

Kristi Noem's Personal Involvement: The Secretary of Homeland Security personally participating in raids represents unprecedented cabinet-level involvement in street-level enforcement, demonstrating the political theater and personal commitment to mass detention.

Military Coordination:

Operation Midway Blitz (Chicago, September 9): ICE agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez while he was dropping his child off at school
DHS claimed he struck an officer who "feared for his life"
Body camera footage contradicted DHS claims—ICE agent said on camera that injuries were "nothing major"

Show of Force Operations:

Operation Excalibur (LA MacArthur Park, July 7): 90 National Guard members and US 1-18th Cavalry provided mounted mobile security for largely empty park
Hour-long operation conducted primarily for media and intimidation effect

Individual Cases - January 2025 Operations

Lewelyn Dixon (January):

64-year-old University of Washington lab technician
Legal permanent resident for 50 years
Arrested returning from trip to Philippines
Detained at Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma for 3 months
Released May 27, 2025 after judge ruled she didn't qualify for deportation

Alireza Doroudi (March 25):

University of Alabama doctoral student from Iran
Studying mechanical engineering on F-1 visa
Arrested at home
Lawyer: Hadn't been charged with any crime, hadn't participated in anti-government protests
DHS claimed he "posed significant national security concerns" but provided zero evidence
After 41 days detention, requested May 8 to leave US rather than continue fighting

Rosmery Alvarado (April 23):

Guatemalan immigrant married to recently naturalized US citizen
Detained after arriving at USCIS field office for what she believed was first step in residency process
Told she had deportation order from failing to appear in court when she was a youth in 2000s
New deportation order issued morning of her arrest

Deaths in Custody

Chaofeng Ge (August 5):

32-year-old Chinese immigrant found dead at ICE's Moshannon Valley Processing Center
Found hanging with bedsheet and linens around wrists and ankles in "hog-tied" position
No staff spoke Mandarin
Staff "refused to even try to communicate," did not offer mental health care
Forced to write notes requiring translation that took days
ICE initial report: Said he was found "hanging by the neck" but neglected to mention hands and feet were bound
One of at least 25 deaths in ICE custody in 2025—highest number in 20 years
For context: ICE reported 36 deaths during Trump's entire first presidency (2017-2021), including during COVID-19

Timeline Context - January-February 2025

January 20-27: Building the apparatus

Day One: Mass deportation infrastructure ordered
Week One: ICE given quotas and funding commitments
January 27: First coordinated nationwide operation

January 28: Secretary Noem's personal involvement

Personally leads NYC raid
Posts video for political messaging
Demonstrates cabinet-level engagement in enforcement theater

February 2025: Systematic expansion

287(g) agreements begin exponential growth
Worksite raid protocols established
Quota systems normalized
Military coordination increased

March 2025: Expansion and escalation

March 9: "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" signed (ICE funding exceeds all other federal law enforcement)
March 12: Abrego Garcia arrested (first high-profile defiance of court orders)
March 25: International students and visa holders targeted

By April 2025, the infrastructure for systematic mass deportation was fully operational, with arrest numbers exceeding previous administrations by over 400% and detention capacity at record levels.

Source Citations

Note: Documentation in this entry draws from cumulative 2025 reporting as specific January 2025 daily operation details were not extensively covered in real-time but were established through subsequent investigations and agency reporting.