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FOIA Records Show DHS Recast as a 'Department of Deportation'

Internal records show investigators diverted from child‑exploitation work to meet removal targets.

Overview

  • Homeland Security investigators logged about 33% fewer hours on child‑exploitation cases from February through April than in prior years.
  • Stephen Miller has run regular coordination calls and pressed for more arrests, and Secretary Kristi Noem warned in May that jobs were at risk if removals did not increase.
  • DHS reports the detention population has surpassed 60,000 and total removals exceed 550,000, with the daily pace reaching levels last seen during the Obama administration.
  • Fewer than 40% of people detained by ICE have U.S. criminal convictions, according to a New York Times analysis of department data.
  • Personnel and assets have been redirected across agencies, including Coast Guard aircraft and delayed academy training, as ICE prepares a major expansion under a $162 billion border‑security package with projected staffing growth of 66%.