#ATTENTION: Latest ICE data shows an increase in immigration arrests in Washington state.
Federal immigration authorities arrested more than 2,100 people in Washington between October and early March, according to newly released data.
This marks an intensification of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the state. The total number of arrests is equivalent to approximately 13 per day during the five-month period. They also represent more than half of the over 3,800 immigration arrests in Washington since Trump took office. Not everyone who is arrested ends up being deported.
By comparison, during a 14-month period under President Joe Biden, from mid-January 2023 to early March 2024, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested approximately 2,200 people in Washington, the data shows.
In the period from October 2024 to early March 2025, under both Biden and Trump, ICE arrested fewer than 400 people here.
The surge has been driven in part by an increase in arrests of immigrants without criminal records, despite Trump’s stated focus on criminals. Between October 1 and March 10, approximately one-quarter of those arrested had a criminal conviction, while about 26% faced pending charges. The proportion with convictions or pending charges is a slight decrease compared to the rest of Trump's term.
"This administration is detaining people indiscriminately — and in too many cases, illegally," U.S. Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement Friday. "Mothers and fathers with no criminal record are being separated from their children. This administration is not going after the 'worst of the worst' — they are arresting parents and farmworkers who have not committed a crime."
The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project hasn't necessarily seen this increase reflected in its work representing immigrants in court, said Malou Chávez, the group's executive director.
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