MEMPHIS — Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 100 people in Memphis over the weekend. The operation marks the largest raid in the city’s history, according to local immigrant rights groups.

One raid took place at a bar named El Corralón where Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived with a fleet of rented buses at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning. Witnesses reported that officers demanded they delete recordings and shone lights into their cameras. Memphis Mayor Paul Young condemned the raid.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is utilizing the 287(g) program to conduct arrests through local law enforcement. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has adopted a more subtle operational approach than his predecessor Kristi Noem. Enforcement efforts under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Minneapolis resulted in the deaths of American citizens.

Timeline

Enforcement efforts under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Minneapolis resulted in the deaths of American citizens on March 31, 2026. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests fell sharply in February and March 2026 before rising in May 2026. In June 2026, the House of Representatives passed a roughly $70 billion package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump’s term. Approximately 300,000 Haitian migrants lost their legal status following a June Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Trump administration to end their temporary protected status.

The August 2026 arrest total is on par with July 2026, which was the highest single monthly arrest total during the second Trump administration. The Homeland Security Department published a proposed rule titled "Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions" on August 25, 2026. One raid took place at a bar named El Corralón where Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived with a fleet of rented buses at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, August 30, 2026. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 100 people in Memphis over the weekend ending August 30, 2026.

What's New

Additional reporting indicates that Immigration and Customs Enforcement purchased new detention facilities and plans to purchase electric gloves and robot dogs using funds from the June 2026 spending package. The agency also signed a new contractor to manage the operations of a new warehouse in San Antonio, Texas for $17 million.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a United States federal law enforcement agency.

Why It Matters

The scale of the Memphis operation reflects a broader expansion of federal immigration enforcement capabilities supported by recent legislative and administrative actions. This funding coincides with an increase in personnel, as the agency has hired more than 12,000 people so far in 2026, doubling its size.

The raids occur against a backdrop of changing legal statuses for specific migrant populations. Local officials and rights groups view the Memphis arrests as part of a pattern that disrupts communities, while federal data indicates that August 2026 arrest totals remain at historic highs for the current administration.