ICE Arrests 1,200 Illegal Immigrants During Statewide Georgia Operation

The sting, titled ‘Operation Safe Community – Atlanta,’ focused primarily on foreign nationals with criminal records, the agency said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing in Silver Spring, Md., on Jan. 27, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than 1,200 illegal immigrants across Georgia during a recent statewide operation, the agency said last week.

Of 1,226 illegal aliens who were arrested by ICE in the state, 720 were charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States, ICE said in a news release on Aug. 7. Five of those who were arrested were located at a local trucking company that ICE said was “known for employing” illegal immigrants.

The sting was titled “Operation Safe Community–Atlanta,” targeting people with criminal histories that include charges of crimes against children, aggravated assault, assault and battery, burglary, weapons crimes, drug crimes, sex crimes, lewd and lascivious acts, and driving while intoxicated, among others, according to the news release.

“Our officers did what they do best: they arrested and removed dangerous criminal offenders from American communities,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Assistant Director Patricia Hyde said in a statement regarding the Georgia sting.

Hyde said that those who were arrested were, at the very least, violating U.S. immigration law by being in the country illegally.

“Removing these criminal alien offenders from Georgia neighborhoods makes for much safer communities, and that is exactly what the men and women of ICE work to accomplish every day across our great nation,” she said, referring to the 700 or so who had criminal records and allegations against them.

In several examples, ICE said among those arrested were a man from Mexico who had prior convictions for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine, another from Mexico who was a sex offender with criminal convictions for sexual battery, a man from Honduras who had prior criminal arrests for cruelty to children, and more.

The operation in Georgia comes as ICE has ramped up arrests in recent weeks. The White House’s designated border czar, Tom Homan, said in mid-July that arrests of illegal immigrants reached their highest levels in the 23-year history of ICE.

In an interview with NewsNation, Homan said that “in June, we had the highest numbers of arrests in the history of the agency of ICE and July’s tracking even beat that. So we’re hitting on all cylinders now.”

Data released in July show that ICE has deported 356,389 people so far in fiscal year 2026, meaning that roughly 1,255 people are being removed per day.

Before taking office in early 2025, President Donald Trump had heavily campaigned on mass deportation of illegal immigrants. The Trump administration has taken numerous executive and administrative actions to tighten border security, increase vetting of foreign nationals from certain countries, and impose more stringent rules on visas and legal immigration.