In August 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained more than 50,000 noncitizen immigrants, setting a new record for the highest number of arrests made within a single month. According to the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley, arrests have risen sharply since May 2026. However, the Trump administration’s shift towards more subtle ICE operations raises questions about whether media coverage has kept pace with the growing scale of immigration enforcement.
Over the summer, isolated incidents of arrests and increased ICE activity across smaller, less populated cities have revived public and media interest in ICE’s controversial tactics: in July 2026, ICE agents in Houston shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo after misidentifying him during a targeted enforcement operation; on Sept. 20, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was shot and injured by ICE while fulfilling a DoorDash delivery in North Austin, despite possessing a valid work permit; that same day, a US citizen was injured after being mistaken for a fugitive during an encounter with an ICE agent.
Previously, larger cities in Minnesota, New York, and California have been the primary targets of ICE raids. Sanctuary jurisdictions, or areas that “adopted policies that limit their cooperation with federal agencies charged with immigration enforcement,” have also been under close watch. Now, ICE is shifting its focus to more suburban and rural areas across the country to quietly carry out its operations while avoiding mainstream media coverage.
Here are the recent developments in ICE’s growing “shadow surge.”
What is the “Shadow Surge”?
Immigrant advocates are calling the recent trend in increased detainments among non-target cities, especially in Republican-led states, a “shadow surge”. To implement this shift toward quieter arrests and away from public-facing operations, ICE has sought increased collaboration with local law enforcement.
This surge emerged as a new approach to immigration enforcement following backlash toward Operation Metro Surge, a deadly and high-profile operation that deployed more than 3,000 ICE officers across Minnesota. Operation Metro Surge led to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, sparking outrage among protestors who demanded an end to the agency’s violent tactics.
After months of scrutiny following Operation Metro Surge, President Trump fired former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and replaced her with Markwayne Mullin in March 2026. Like Noem, Mullin focused his strategy on achieving President Trump’s goals. Unlike his predecessor, he also prioritized reducing ICE’s presence in the public spotlight. Following his confirmation hearing, Mullin stated his “goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day.”
Compared with initial high-profile raids, which were large-scale enforcement operations targeting public areas such as worksites and businesses, ICE is shifting its focus to routine locations, including laundromats, traffic stops, and even private homes. Like a “shadow police force,” federal agents are grabbing pedestrians off the street and placing them into unmarked vehicles.
In New York City on Oct. 8, a Dominican man named Oscar Belgal was hospitalized following a violent confrontation with ICE in the parking lot of a McDonald’s. He was in a car with his 5-year-old son when ICE agents in plain clothes surrounded them and fired multiple shots, hitting Belgal in the neck. His lawyers claimed that the agents failed to identify themselves, and many have criticized the unnecessary use of force.
Another new strategy implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the use of local and state law enforcement to carry out operations under federal jurisdiction. As a result, a greater proportion of arrests are being made by local law enforcement rather than ICE. This new policy, known colloquially as the 287(g) agreements, allows DHS not only to increase arrest capacity but to reduce the visibility of federal crackdowns.
Operation Rotten Apple, which took place from July to August 2026 in New York State, arrested more than 2,100 people while largely evading public attention. According to Mullin, “Operation Rotten Apple got some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.” Although New York residents and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are continuing to resist ICE encroachments, the DHS is fighting back and threatens to withhold funding if New York continues to defy.
Republican Opposition
With midterm elections approaching quickly, a growing number of Republican officials are distancing themselves from President Trump. Most notably, Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, publicly denounced the recent “shadow surge,” remarking that President Trump “has gone too far.” Rep. Salazar has also criticized Trump for betraying his Hispanic voters and is now working on passing the Dignity Act, a reform bill that hopes to address current immigration laws.
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, who once supported President Trump’s immigration platform, has also criticized the recent strategies, stating that ICE operations are causing “mass interruptions to local communities and businesses.”