ICE arrested more people on Long Island than ever before. The numbers keep growing.

Immigration arrests on Long Island reached a historic high at the start of the year and continued steadily into last month, new data shows, offering the first comprehensive look at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown locally.

The 352 ICE arrests in January marked a peak in monthly numbers for the time period covering October through early March. Newsday analyzed the statistics after the nonprofit Deportation Data Project released them last week. They confirm what immigration advocates called a "significant acceleration" in enforcement that also saw a record number of people challenging their detentions.

After federal agents killed two American citizens in Minnesota, the Trump administration in February withdrew thousands of agents from that state amid widespread protests. Immigration arrests dipped nationwide and to 223 on Long Island that month, data shows.

But in the first 10 days of March, 118 people were arrested here, the data shows, potentially putting arrests on track to meet January's high, when an average of 11 people were arrested each day.

Nationally, immigration arrests declined after December's peak of 40,281. In January, ICE made 38,091 arrests nationwide. That dipped to 30,025 in February.

Islip Forward, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization that tracks ICE activity on Long Island, said the findings are consistent with what the group’s been seeing: a "sharp escalation" in immigration enforcement in late 2025 and a "significant acceleration" into the new year.

While the federal data only covers arrests through March 10, Ahmad Perez, Islip Forward’s founder and executive director, said there’s been a drop-off in ICE sightings on Long Island starting in late March, which coincides with ICE agents' deployment to airports to help during a partial government shutdown.

"Importantly, this shift should not be interpreted as a reduction in enforcement overall. Rather, it reflects a temporary redistribution of federal resources, following a period of sustained escalation," Perez said in an email.

He also noted that immigration activity is becoming "less publicly visible."

"Including early morning residential operations, activity near courthouses, and the use of unmarked or newly branded vehicles — dynamics that are not always captured in traditional reporting or arrest data alone," Perez said.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), who’s been supportive of local police departments cooperating with federal immigration officials, said the rising number of arrests on Long Island are "rooted in common sense and public safety."

LaLota criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul for their sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration officials.

"The contrast is undeniable. The Hochul-Mamdani approach is driven by ideology. And NYC residents continue to flee to Long Island where we are guided by a simple responsibility to keep our kids safe and our communities secure," LaLota said in an email.

Newsday's analysis of the new data shows people with no criminal background continue to make up the majority of those arrested on Long Island, outpacing national numbers. Since last fall, more than 60% of people arrested locally were not convicted or charged with any crime.

Nationally, this share reached its peak of 48% in January.

Newsday obtained all ICE arrests on Long Island by adding those that occurred in four locations: Nassau and Suffolk counties, the Nassau County jail and the Central Islip processing area. Newsday calculated total arrests for each month in those locations and the average number of daily arrests.

Long Island arrests take up a growing share of all arrests by ICE in the New York City area, which includes Long Island, the five boroughs and surrounding counties. Since last fall, arrests on Long Island make up more than half the arrests in the region, although roughly 15% of New York’s unauthorized immigrants call Long Island home, according to 2023 estimates from the Migration Policy Institute analyzed by Newsday.

Most people arrested on Long Island since the Trump administration took office were men in their 30s from Central American countries such as El Salvador and Honduras, the data shows. At least 17 of those arrested since the beginning of the immigration crackdown were children, some as young as 5.

The data shows 144 arrests logged on Long Island were listed as part of Nassau County’s agreement with ICE to help arrest and deport immigrants who don’t have legal status in the country. The partnership allows ICE to use the county jail in East Meadow to detain people and information sharing between Nassau Police and federal officials to arrest people.

Ify Chikezie, a staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the agreement between Nassau and ICE "turns local cops into weapons of ICE" and likely contributed to the increase in arrests. The NYCLU sued the county last summer over the partnership, arguing the arrangement would lead to racial profiling. In late February, a state Supreme Court justice upheld the agreement. The NYCLU is appealing the decision.  

 "287(g) programs embed ICE into local communities, serving as a key component of Trump’s mass deportation strategy — and Nassau’s ‘task force’ model specifically allows for the deepest form of ICE collusion possible. It’s clear that Nassau’s unlawful agreement is dividing families, separating children, and creating unnecessary chaos in Long Island. It must be struck down," Chikezie said. 

In January, Hochul announced a proposal to ban local police departments from entering into agreements with ICE.

There’s no such agreement between the agency and Suffolk County. ICE is using hold rooms in the Central Islip federal courthouse to detain immigrants.