Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Fact check: How many legal immigrants have been detained by ICE?
Executive Summary
ICE reported roughly 59,000–59,762 people in detention in mid-to-late 2025, and multiple internal and research summaries highlight that a large share of those held had no criminal convictions; specific counts and framing differ across documents and time slices, but the most consistent figure across provided materials is about 59,000 detainees [1] [2] [3]. The available datasets in the package do not provide a definitive tally of how many detained people were legally admitted immigrants (lawful permanent residents or other categories of “legal immigrants”) at the point of detention; instead the materials supply related measures—detainers issued against LPRs in an older dataset, numbers of detainees without criminal convictions, and aggregated arrest/removal totals—that require careful interpretation [4] [1] [5].
1. Numbers that grab headlines—and what they actually measure
The sources converge on a headline number: roughly 59,000 people in ICE custody in mid‑ to late‑2025, described as a record high in multiple summaries; one snapshot cites 59,762 detained as of September 21, 2025, and earlier June reporting rounds to about 59,000 [1] [2] [3]. This figure measures total ICE detention population, aggregating people in facilities run by ICE, private contractors, and local jails, and it is used by advocates and watchdogs to document the scale of detention and the growth of "mega‑detention" infrastructures [3]. That total does not equal the count of “legal immigrants detained”—the dataset lists convictions, detainers, and arresting authorities but does not release a simple current headcount labeled “legal permanent residents” or similar for the same time points [1] [6].
2. The large subgroup without criminal convictions changes the narrative
Multiple documents emphasize that a majority of those detained lacked criminal convictions: one dataset reports 71.5% of detainees had no criminal convictions, translating to about 42,755 people in ICE custody without a criminal record as of the September snapshot [1]. This reframes public debate over “criminal aliens” by showing that detention is not limited to people with criminal convictions and that enforcement strategies are capturing many people without convictions. Advocacy groups and critical researchers use this statistic to argue that immigration detention policy and arrest operations reach far beyond classic public‑safety targets, while ICE reports and enforcement data focus on arrests of noncitizens with criminal histories in other releases—creating tension between different framings in the record [2] [5].
3. Older detainer metrics point to legal permanent residents but are not contemporaneous
An earlier dataset in the packet tallies 28,489 ICE detainers issued against legal permanent residents (LPRs), of which 20,281 had convictions and 8,208 did not—a useful historical metric but from 2013 and thus not directly comparable to the 2025 detention snapshots [4]. Detainers are a procedural tool, not a complete accounting of detention outcomes, and the 2013 detainer counts reflect enforcement practices and local‑federal cooperation protocols from that period. Using that older detainer total to answer “how many legal immigrants have been detained by ICE” today would overstate temporal precision; the packet lacks a contemporaneous, disaggregated tally of detained persons by immigration status for 2024–2025 that would allow a direct, current count of detained legal immigrants [4] [6].
4. Arrests, removals, and reporting frames create different impressions
ICE’s FY2024 report and related materials emphasize large numbers of arrests and removals—statements that focus on people with criminal histories (for example, tens of thousands of arrests of people with convictions) and high removal totals—while other sources emphasize detention population and proportions without convictions [5] [2]. This produces two competing narratives: one centered on enforcement of criminally associated noncitizens and another centered on expansive detention of people without convictions. Both are supported by the provided data points, but neither set of documents in the packet supplies a single, authoritative cross‑tabulation showing current detainees by legal status (LPR, visa holder, refugee, etc.), conviction status, and arrest source for the same date range [5] [1].
5. What’s missing—and why that matters for answering the original question
The materials lack a contemporaneous breakdown labeled “legal immigrant” among detainees for 2024–2025; therefore the question “How many legal immigrants have been detained by ICE?” cannot be answered precisely from these documents alone. Available items give proxies—total detainees (~59,000), detainees without convictions (~42,755), and historical detainer counts against LPRs (28,489 in 2013)—but none is a direct, current count of detained legal immigrants [1] [4]. Analysts and policymakers should request or locate ICE dataset cross‑tabs that enumerate current detainees by immigration status and conviction history for exactitude, because the present packet’s strengths are headline totals and subgroup proportions, not a definitive legal‑status ledger [6] [4].
6. Bottom line for readers and researchers who need a single number
From the provided materials, the defensible conclusions are: ICE detained about 59,000 people in mid‑to‑late 2025; a very large share had no criminal convictions; and older detainer data show substantial interactions between ICE and lawful permanent residents historically [1] [2] [4]. You cannot derive a precise, current count of detained “legal immigrants” from these documents alone; doing so would conflate different measures across time and definitions. To produce that specific number, request or locate ICE’s detainee roster export or an official ICE breakdown by immigration status for the relevant date range.