An average of 1,500 detainees entered ICE custody each day last month, the data indicates, though some of them were first arrested by Customs and Border Protection agents. The over 46,000 book-ins in July surpassed the roughly 43,000 detentions recorded by ICE in June, at the time the highest tally during President Trump’s second term. As of this weekend, ICE was holding 68,000 detainees in its sprawling detention system, approaching a record high of over 70,000 detainees set in January, according to internal agency figures. Theresa Cardinal Brown, an immigration official at DHS during the Obama and Bush administrations, said one main difference in ICE’s strategy since Noem was pushed aside is how operations are advertised. But she said it’s clear “the administration never gave up on its goal of mass deportations.”