During the first 100 days following President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order on immigration and border enforcement, arrests of criminal aliens increased dramatically. ICE officials report an increase in arrests of these immigrants of 37.6 percent when compared to the same period the previous year.

President Trump signed the order on January 22. Between then and April 29, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers arrested 41,318 individuals known or suspected of being in the United States illegally, according to a statement released by ICE on Wednesday.

“These statistics reflect President Trump’s commitment to enforce our immigration laws fairly and across the board. ICE agents and officers have been given clear direction to focus on threats to public safety and national security, which has resulted in a substantial increase in the arrest of convicted criminal aliens,” ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan said in a written statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. “However, when we encounter others who are in the country unlawfully, we will execute our sworn duty and enforce the law. As the data demonstrates, ICE continues to execute our mission professionally and in accordance with the law, and our communities will be much safer for it.”

ICE officials reported that nearly three-fourths of those arrested during the 100-day period are convicted criminals. Many had charges or convictions that include homicide, assault, sexual abuse, and drug-related offenses.

During the same 100-day period in 2016, officers arrested 25,786 aliens with criminal histories. This year, the number of arrests rose to 30,473, officials reported. This represents an increase of 20 percent over the same period. More than 2,700 of these criminal aliens are reported to have violent histories that include rape, homicide, and assaults.

Agents also arrested 50 percent more “aliens at-large in the community.” During 2016, officers arrested 8,381 immigrants, while in 2017 they arrested 12,776.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.