ICE arrests surge in Washington State as DOJ targets ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’

According to internal ICE logs reviewed by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley School of Law and compiled by KING 5 News, between January and May, ICE made between 84 and 137 arrests per month in the state.

The surge brings the total number of ICE arrests in Washington to at least 817 in 2025 so far. The sharp uptick follows a broader national trend. Across the country, ICE held roughly 56,945 individuals in custody as of late July, an increase of about 15,000 from the beginning of the year.

ICE averaged 1,224 daily arrests in June, but that number fell to approximately 990 per day during the first 26 days of July, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Despite the drop in daily arrests, deportations increased in July, with ICE removing an average of 84 more individuals per day compared to June.

ICE operates separately from Customs and Border Protection, conducting arrests within the interior of the US, usually targeting illegal aliens already held in local jails and prisons.

The renewed federal crackdown comes amid a push by the Trump administration to pressure "sanctuary jurisdictions" that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a list of cities, counties, and states identified as having policies that obstruct federal immigration enforcement. Both Seattle and Washington state were included on the list.

“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”

The announcement follows President Trump’s April 28, 2025, signing of Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens. The order declared that “some State and local officials… continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws,” and directed the DOJ and DHS to identify and publicly name such jurisdictions.