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DHS reports record ICE arrests and deportations in fiscal 2026

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 14 outlets across the spectrum.

14 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Man in suit speaks at podium before ICE seal and Immigration and Customs Enforcement backdrop.
Image via The Washington TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement made about 491,000 immigration arrests and deported about 483,000 people in fiscal 2026, which ran from October 2025 through September 2026. DHS said both totals are the highest in the agency’s history, and that the deportations topped the 442,640 of the prior year. Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he couldn’t be prouder of ICE officers. Several outlets link the figures to the midterm elections, in which Republicans lost ground. The announcement did not say what share of those deported faced criminal charges.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. DHS said ICE made about 491,000 immigration arrests in fiscal 2026.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Left
    CBS News
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  2. DHS said ICE deported about 483,000 people in fiscal 2026, the highest in the agency’s history.

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Center1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Left
    Bloomberg, CBS News
    Center
    Newsweek
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Epoch Times, The Daily Wire

  3. DHS released the figures on Thursday.

    Reported byFar Left1Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    HuffPost
    Right
    New York Post, The Washington Times
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  4. The reported deportation total is above the 442,640 deportations of the prior fiscal year.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  5. Analyses cited by HuffPost have found that many people detained in the crackdown have no criminal record.

    One outletHuffPost· Far Left

  6. The announcement did not say what share of the people deported faced criminal charges.

    One outletNew York Post· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports DHS’s announcement of about 491,000 ICE arrests and 483,000 deportations in fiscal 2026. Left outlets tie the record to midterm losses, right outlets stress scale and comparison with Biden, and the center outlet notes Trump’s recent remark that the policy was too tough.

  • the left

    6 outlets

    Left headlines mostly state the record plainly, but HuffPost, the far-left outlet, leads with the midterm losses and calls the administration’s announcement bragging.

    Trump Admin Loaded verb“Brags”Brags implies boasting, while the announcement reports figures the agency released.More neutral: saysDisagree with this highlight? About Deportation Record Days After Sensational language“Midterm Bloodbath”Bloodbath is a dramatic term for the election results, which the headline states as a fact about the outcome.More neutral: midterm lossesDisagree with this highlight?
    HuffPostFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Newsweek’s headline links the record to Trump’s recent remark that the policy was too tough, a link the left and right headlines do not make.

    ICE Loaded verb“Touts”The verb implies promotion of the figures rather than reporting them.More neutral: reportsDisagree with this highlight? Record Arrest Numbers Days After Trump Called Policy 'Too Tough'
    NewsweekCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    7 outlets

    Right headlines mostly attribute the record to DHS and stress its scale, while the far-right Breitbart and Daily Wire credit Trump’s administration and compare the totals with Biden’s.

    DHS says record number of illegal immigrants deported in past year
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left4

    vicious and unpopularbraggedBragsMidterm Bloodbath

  • Center1

    Touts

  • Right3

    illegal aliensillegal immigrantdangerous perps

In the outlets’ own words

  • Dehumanizing label

    illegal aliensMore neutral: unauthorized immigrant or noncitizen without legal status

    Appears in some statutes but is widely read as dehumanizing; 'alien' frames people as foreign objects rather than residents.

    …administration last year, in Fiscal Year 2026 — removing close to half a million illegal aliens from the United States.

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    ToutsMore neutral: reports

    The verb implies promotion of the figures rather than reporting them.

    ICE Touts Record Arrest Numbers Days After Trump Called Policy 'Too Tough'

    Used byNewsweek (Center)

  • Dehumanizing label

    illegal immigrantMore neutral: immigrants

    The label reduces people to a legal-status category in the headline before any individual case is described.

    ICE shatters illegal immigrant arrest and deportation records in 2026

    Used byWashington Examiner (Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    dangerous perpsMore neutral: a handful of people highlighted by DHS as having criminal records

    Calling people perps labels them criminals in the outlet’s own voice, before the release established any charges.

    30, faced criminal charges, though a handful of dangerous perps were highlighted in a Department of Homeland Security press release.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 4 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded modifier

    vicious and unpopularMore neutral: immigration crackdown

    Calling the crackdown vicious and unpopular states a judgement in the outlet’s own voice rather than a reported fact.

    Days after a blowout election loss due in part to its vicious and unpopular immigration crackdown, the Trump administration bragged Thursday that it had…

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    braggedMore neutral: said

    Bragged implies boasting, while the administration announced figures.

    …in part to its vicious and unpopular immigration crackdown, the Trump administration bragged Thursday that it had deported a record number of people in the most recent fiscal…

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    BragsMore neutral: says

    Brags implies boasting, while the announcement reports figures the agency released.

    Trump Admin Brags About Deportation Record Days After Midterm Bloodbath

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    Midterm BloodbathMore neutral: midterm losses

    Bloodbath is a dramatic term for the election results, which the headline states as a fact about the outcome.

    Trump Admin Brags About Deportation Record Days After Midterm Bloodbath

    Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    record shatteringMore neutral: record

    Shattering is dramatic wording for the record claim, which the agency made in its own words.

    30, 2026, numbers the agency claimed were “record shattering.

    Quoted byHuffPost (Far Left)

    These are the Department of Homeland Security’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

6 outlets

Leads with

  • the midterm election losses
  • the scale of the crackdown
  • the unpopularity of the immigration enforcement
See the 6 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • Al Jazeera EnglishLeft

    US reports record number of deportations and arrests in 2026

    ICE carried out 483,200 deportations in 2026. Democrats prepare to investigate tactics used.

    Read at Al Jazeera English (opens in a new tab)
  • HuffPostFar Left

    Trump Admin Loaded verb“Brags”Brags implies boasting, while the announcement reports figures the agency released.More neutral: saysDisagree with this highlight? About Deportation Record Days After Sensational language“Midterm Bloodbath”Bloodbath is a dramatic term for the election results, which the headline states as a fact about the outcome.More neutral: midterm lossesDisagree with this highlight?

    Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin said he “couldn’t be prouder” of ICE for deporting almost half a million people. Voters felt differently.

    Read at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)
  • BloombergLeft

    ICE Deported Record 483,000 People in Past Year Under Trump

    The US deported a record 483,000 people over the past year, underscoring the scale of an immigration crackdown that has become a political liability for President Donald Trump after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the midterm elections.

    Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)
  • The Boston GlobeFar LeftAssociated Press report

    ICE reports record-high immigration arrests and deportations since Trump’s return to White House

    WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that it arrested and deported more people during a recent 12-month period than at any time in its 23-year history. ICE said it deported 483,200 people in the fiscal year that ended Sept. …

    Read at The Boston Globe (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by ABC News. It counts once.

  • CBS NewsLeft

    ICE deportations and arrests hit record high

    New Department of Homeland Security figures show more than 483,000 deportations and 491,000 immigration arrests in fiscal year 2026.

    Read at CBS News (opens in a new tab)
  • ABC NewsLeftAssociated Press report

    ICE reports record immigration arrests, deportations since Trump White House return

    ABC News published a report that is shown in full at The Boston Globe. The headline is the one ABC News gave it.

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the record arrest numbers
  • Trump’s comment that the policy was too tough
  • DHS’s announcement
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

7 outlets

Leads with

  • the record totals
  • deportations above the prior year
  • comparison with Biden-era numbers
See the 7 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    DHS touts highest ICE deportations in history, as Mullin says agency has been ‘unleashed’

    DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced record ICE arrests and deportations in fiscal 2026, with arrests exceeding three Biden fiscal years combined.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    DHS says record number of illegal immigrants deported in past year

    The Trump administration said Thursday that it had deported a record number of illegal immigrants in the past year — with nearly a half-million people living in the US without legal permission forced to return to their homelands.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • The Washington TimesRight

    ICE sets records for arrests, deportations

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set all-time records with nearly 475,000 administrative immigration arrests and 483,200 deportations in fiscal 2026, the government said Thursday.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    ICE Deportations and Arrests Hit All-Time High, DHS Says

    The department said nearly 1.2 million people had been deported since President Trump took office last year.

    Read at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Washington ExaminerRight

    ICE shatters Dehumanizing label“illegal immigrant”The label reduces people to a legal-status category in the headline before any individual case is described.More neutral: immigrantsDisagree with this highlight? arrest and deportation records in 2026

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested and deported more illegal immigrants in fiscal 2026 than any year on record, according to the Department of Homeland Security. …

    Read at Washington Examiner (opens in a new tab)
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Trump Administration Breaks Deportation Records, Removing Almost Half a Million Dehumanizing label“Illegal Aliens”The label reduces people to a legal-status category in the headline, rather than describing them as immigrants or people without legal status.More neutral: immigrants without legal statusDisagree with this highlight? from U.S.

    President Donald Trump's administration broke deportation records, set by the administration last year, in Fiscal Year 2026.

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily WireFar Right

    Trump’s ICE Just Blew Past Biden On Arrests, And That’s Only Half The Story

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded the most arrests and deportations in its history during fiscal year 2026 under President Donald Trump, according to new data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday. …

    Read at The Daily Wire (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    CBS News, Nov 12, 6:00 AM EST

  • Center

    6 hr 26 min later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 12:26 PM EST

  • Right

    5 hr 51 min later

    Its first report, Nov 12, 11:51 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CBS NewsLeftNov 12, 6:00 AM EST
  2. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 12, 11:03 AM EST
  3. ABC NewsLeftNov 12, 11:05 AM EST
  4. The Daily WireFar RightNov 12, 11:51 AM EST
  5. Breitbart NewsFar RightNov 12, 12:04 PM EST
  6. NewsweekCenterNov 12, 12:26 PM EST
  7. Washington ExaminerRightNov 12, 12:33 PM EST
  8. The Epoch TimesFar RightNov 12, 2:38 PM EST
  9. BloombergLeftNov 12, 2:48 PM EST
  10. The Washington TimesRightNov 12, 3:06 PM EST
  11. New York PostRightNov 12, 5:00 PM EST
  12. HuffPostFar LeftNov 12, 5:34 PM EST
  13. Fox NewsFar RightNov 12, 9:54 PM EST
  14. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftNov 13, 1:46 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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