U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests surged by 367% in Georgia this year, with 4,500 illegal aliens detained between January 20 and July 31—up sharply from the 963 arrests made under the Biden administration during the same timeframe in 2021, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The dramatic increase is a direct result of renewed enforcement under President Donald Trump’s leadership. ICE operations in Georgia have focused heavily on criminal aliens, including individuals convicted of trafficking drugs, statutory rape, hit-and-run, sexual battery against minors, and child molestation. DHS officials described these offenders as the “worst of the worst.”
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin pointed to the Biden administration’s lax immigration policies as the root cause of avoidable tragedies, stating, “Biden’s open border [policies] allowed Laken Riley’s killer to be in the country and gave him the opportunity [to] brutally murder the young Georgia nursing student.” She praised President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem for restoring law enforcement authority, saying ICE is once again empowered to remove “murderers, pedophiles, gang members, drug traffickers, and terrorists.”
Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Center Square that the stepped-up enforcement will have a “noticeable effect on public safety.” She said removing thousands of criminal aliens from Georgia will lead to “safer streets, safer playgrounds, and safer businesses.”
Vaughan noted that increased enforcement also serves as a deterrent, prompting many illegal migrants to leave voluntarily. “This will open up job opportunities for Americans in Georgia, and relieve the cost to Georgia taxpayers of providing welfare benefits, health care, and education for illegal migrants and their families,” she said.
With enforcement back in full force, local communities are beginning to recover from the burdens of the Biden-era border crisis. Vaughan added, “We are stuck with American criminals, but those criminals who are here in defiance of our laws should be removed so they will not victimize more people.”
