A new study tracks deportations, detention and changing arrest patterns across seven Southern California counties and explains what the records can and cannot tell us.
Nearly 15,000 people arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Southern California in 2025 and 2026 have been deported, according to a new study based on government records obtained through litigation.
That works out to roughly 25 deportations a day over the period covered by the data. That daily average is a calculation based on the study’s totals, not a figure reported by researchers, and it does not mean deportations happened at the same rate every day.
The Deportation Data Project’s analysis covers seven counties served by ICE’s Los Angeles field office: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
The project counts formal removals, voluntary departures and other outcomes as deportations. Researchers also caution that the removal records have reliability limitations. Their ICE data and methodology notes explain how the records were collected and what they can and cannot tell us.
Graeme Blair, the project’s codirector and a UCLA political science professor, said Los Angeles became a testing ground in June 2025 for a more aggressive approach to arrests. People were taken into custody in neighborhoods, outside Home Depot stores, at immigration courthouses and during routine ICE check-ins.
The numbers show how sharply enforcement changed.
Monthly at-large arrests in the region that led to detention rose from fewer than 200 in 2024 to more than 1,700 in June 2025. More than 4,000 people were arrested in June and July of that year. By August 2026, roughly three-quarters had been deported.
Arrests have continued. More than 1,000 noncitizens were arrested in the region in July 2026. Arrests had begun rising again in June, reaching a little more than half the peak recorded in June 2025. Deportations can follow arrests by weeks or months, so the latest increase may not yet be fully reflected in the removal totals.
The study also found a sharp rise in arrests involving people who had not been convicted of a crime or did not have a final removal order from an immigration court.
At the June 2025 peak, arrests of people without a final removal order were nearly 1,400% higher than in 2024. Arrests of people with no criminal conviction rose by more than 3,400%.
These are different measures. A criminal conviction is not the same as an immigration court order, and neither fact alone tells the full story of an individual case. Someone without a final removal order may still be in immigration proceedings, and some people may have legal grounds to challenge their removal.
The question is what happens to people after they are arrested—and how much time they have to pursue their cases.
Among those arrested from the beginning of 2025 through May 2026, 62% were deported within 60 days. Seven percent were released within that period, while about 31% remained in detention after 60 days. The share held for more than two months roughly doubled, rising from 15% in 2024 to close to 30% in 2025 and 2026.
Los Angeles accounted for 33% of at-large arrests across the region. Enforcement also affected communities including Santa Ana, San Bernardino, Santa Maria and Camarillo.
The records show another striking detail: nearly 300 people were sent to countries other than the country where they held citizenship. Most were sent to Mexico; others were sent to Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, Ghana and Eswatini. The data do not explain why each person was sent to a third country or whether that destination was chosen by the person or the government.
The Department of Homeland Security has previously questioned analyses based on the project’s records. In a March statement to LAist about an earlier analysis, a spokesperson said the agency had not verified the project’s accuracy or methodology and accused researchers of presenting a false picture of enforcement priorities. The spokesperson also said 61% of people arrested by ICE nationwide had criminal convictions or pending charges.
Pending charges are not convictions, and a national figure does not tell us who was arrested in Southern California. The statement also addressed an earlier analysis, not necessarily this latest study.
Blair has disclosed consulting for immigrant rights organizations, including on lawsuits challenging ICE arrest and detention policies. That is relevant context for readers, as are the project’s methods and data limitations.
For families across Southern California, these numbers represent more than a change in enforcement statistics. Arrests and deportations can separate families, disrupt work and school, and leave people trying to understand what happens next. The dataset does not document the circumstances or personal consequences of every case, so it cannot tell us how each family was affected.
What it does provide is a clearer view of the scale and pace of enforcement—and a starting point for asking direct questions: Who is being arrested? How long are people being held? How quickly are they deported? And what information is the government making available so the public can judge the results?
We have done additional reporting on ICE arrests in California and what travelers should know about ICE arrests at airports and on domestic flights. As immigration enforcement continues to shape life across the state, reliable information matters to the people affected, their families and the communities where they live.
The numbers tell us a great deal about the reach of enforcement. They do not, by themselves, tell the full story of each person caught up in it.
