U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 2,150 known or suspected terrorists and deported 2,015 of them since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security said, releasing the figures as the country prepares to mark 25 years since the September 11 attacks.
The department said the arrests occurred between Jan. 20, 2025, and Sept. 9, 2026, and that the deportations took place over the same period. The numbers cover people described by DHS as known or suspected terrorists, a category that includes individuals linked to designated foreign terrorist organizations as well as those suspected of plotting attacks.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin tied the enforcement figures directly to the anniversary of the 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. «As we reflect on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the brave men and women of ICE continue to carry out their duty to protect the homeland and keep the American people safe,» Mullin said in the department's announcement. He added that the anniversary underscored a commitment to what he called eternal vigilance.
The department pointed to several recent cases to illustrate the scope of its enforcement efforts. In June, federal authorities arrested Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, a Mexican national whom DHS described as the suspected ringleader of an alleged mass-casualty plot targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House. According to the department, Alvarez overstayed a visitor visa that expired in 2001 and later received DACA status in 2014. ICE lodged a detainer following his arrest.
Days earlier, ICE Homeland Security Investigations arrested Felipe Linares De Oliveira Dell Aquilla, a Brazilian national whom DHS identified as a former commander of two designated foreign terrorist organizations. Authorities said they recovered a handgun, cash and multiple electronic devices after a vehicle and foot pursuit in North Carolina. DHS said Aquilla was wanted in Brazil on criminal association and extortion charges and was allegedly holding his wife against her will while preparing to flee to Mexico. ICE lodged a detainer after his arrest, while investigators pursued additional firearm and kidnapping charges.
In a separate case, four Venezuelan members of Tren de Aragua pleaded guilty in May to charges stemming from a 2024 Bronx shooting that killed two people. DHS said all four had entered the United States illegally between 2022 and 2023.
The announcement comes as the nation prepares to mark a quarter-century since the September 11 attacks, which prompted the largest overhaul of the country's homeland security apparatus in decades. That restructuring included the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 and ICE the following year. Friday's anniversary will commemorate the victims of the attacks and the first responders who rushed into danger, while marking 25 years of U.S. efforts to prevent another large-scale terrorist attack on American soil.
The deportation figures arrive amid a broader immigration enforcement push by the Trump administration. DHS has previously highlighted record arrest totals by ICE, and the department has pointed to the terrorism-related cases as evidence that its enforcement priorities extend beyond border crossings to people already living in the United States.
Mullin's statement framed the deportations as part of a continuing mission rather than a single operation, describing the agency's work as a daily responsibility to protect the homeland. The department did not provide a breakdown of how many of those deported were convicted of terrorism-related crimes versus those suspected of ties to terrorist groups.