Administrative and Criminal Arrests: In FY 2020, ICE ERO conducted 103,603 administrative arrests, a 28 percent decline from FY 2019, and 90 percent of those arrested had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges at the time of arrest. In addition to arresting noncitizens for administrative violations of the immigration laws, ICE ERO also conducts criminal arrests and assists with pursuing prosecutions related to such criminal activity. In FY 2020, ICE ERO enforcement activities resulted in 4,360 criminal arrests, 4,479 criminal charges, and 5,397 convictions.

Removals: ICE ERO conducted 185,884 removals during FY 2020, a 30 percent decrease from FY 2019. This decrease primarily resulted from a sharp decline in CBP apprehensions at the Southwest Border due to the use of authority under 42 U.S.C. §§ 265 and 268 to expel noncitizens from the United States to prevent the introduction of COVID19, though it was also impacted by a decline in ICE ERO interior arrests. The vast majority of ICE ERO’s interior removals – 92 percent – had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, demonstrating ICE ERO’s commitment to removing those who pose the greatest risk to the safety and security of the United States. Additionally, despite the overall decrease in removals, ICE ERO assisted CBP with 17,000 air charter expulsions under Title 42, and also saw increases in removals to several countries that were previously uncooperative with removal efforts.

The Fiscal Year 2020 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Report provides an overview of ICE FY 2020 civil immigration enforcement and removal operations.