Washington DC - President Donald Trump and his administration are reportedly unsatisfied with the rate at which US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are capturing migrants and are pressuring them to work harder.

While on the campaign trail last year, Trump vowed to enact the largest deportation effort in US history, and since taking office last month, over 8,000 migrants have been detained by ICE.

But according to CNN, senior Trump administration officials, including his border czar Tom Homan, Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have had tense calls with ICE to express frustration with their performance.

While they haven't publicly shared the numbers they hoped to reach with their efforts, sources familiar with the talks say the administration is pressuring the agency to deliver better results.

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"They're treading water. They're way behind," one administration official told the outlet, adding, "It's not pretty."

The White House also recently admitted that of the 8,000 people detained, 461 have been released for varying reasons.

The administration and ICE have gone out of their way to highlight their efforts by sharing photos and videos of arrests.

Noem, in particular, has attended ICE raids in major cities and has visited the border while dressed in wild outfits that have garnered her the nickname "immigration Barbie" among social media critics.

Former ICE officials who worked under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, have criticized Trump's efforts, with one insisting they "will not make us safer."