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Nearly 15,000 deported after ICE arrest surge in Los Angeles, study finds

Oct 8, 2026·Location: Los Angeles, CA

Nearly 15,000 deported after ICE arrest surge in Los Angeles, study finds
Photo via abc7.com

A study by the Deportation Data Project at UCLA and UC Berkeley School of Law examined ICE arrests in the seven-county Los Angeles field office region, finding arrests surged to about 14,302 in 2025, nearly tripling from 4,684 in 2024, before dropping sharply in early 2026 amid public pressure and policy shifts. Of those arrested from January 2025 through May 2026, about three-quarters were eventually deported, with 62% removed within 60 days and only 7% released from detention, totaling nearly 15,000 deportations. The surge was driven by at-large arrests in neighborhoods, Home Depot parking lots, courthouses, and ICE check-ins across nearly every part of the region, increasingly targeting people without criminal convictions or final removal orders, with arrests of people with no criminal conviction rising more than 3,400% at the peak and jail-to-ICE transfers increasing about 75%. Nearly 300 of those deported were sent to third countries, including Ghana and Eswatini, rather than their countries of citizenship.

Timeline

Oct 8, 2026—Deportation Data Project study detailing nearly 15,000 deportations and third-country removals is reported
Sep 1, 2026—Analysis published finding 62% of those arrested were deported within 60 days and nearly 15,000 total deportations
Aug 1, 2026—About three-quarters of those arrested in the surge had been deported, per analysis
May 1, 2026—Study period for deportation outcomes of those arrested from January 2025 ends
Jan 1, 2026—Monthly ICE arrests exceed 1,500 in January before declining to 809 in February amid public pressure and policy shifts
Jan 1, 2025—ICE arrests in the Los Angeles area begin surging through 2025, nearly tripling from 2024 levels
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