WASHINGTON – Florida experienced the country's biggest increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in 2017, according to a Pew Research Center report.

Arrests were up 76 percent, the report showed and overall there were 6,192 across the state. Other areas of the country had more arrests with Dallas leading the way at more than 16,500.

The increase reversed a decline in immigration arrests in recent years before President Donald Trump took office.

From the report:

Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 that expanded ICE's enforcement focus to most immigrants in the U.S. without authorization, regardless of whether they have a criminal record. Under President Barack Obama, by contrast, ICE focused its enforcement efforts more narrowly, such as by prioritizing the arrests of those convicted of serious crimes.

Despite the overall rise in arrests in 2017, ICE made about twice as many arrests in fiscal 2009, the year Obama came into office (297,898). This total generally declined in subsequent years.