Overview

• In May, senior White House adviser Stephen Miller publicly set a goal for ICE to make at least 3,000 arrests each day as part of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
• In early August filings with the 9th Circuit, DOJ attorney Yaakov Roth denied that any numerical arrest quotas exist and attributed the 3,000-per-day claim to anonymous media reports.
• Judges including Jia Cobb and Trina Thompson have repeatedly invoked the disputed figure in decisions blocking expanded expedited deportations and upholding an injunction on broad “roving” arrest sweeps in Los Angeles.
• Critics such as the ACLU argue that even an informal target can influence ICE conduct, raising due-process concerns and fueling ongoing litigation over immigration enforcement tactics.
• White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson reaffirmed the administration’s pursuit of the largest mass deportation operation in history even as courts continue to challenge sweeping arrest strategies.