How many us citizens have been arrested by ice

1. What the published tallies say: the 170+ figure and its sources

Multiple news outlets cite a ProPublica investigation that identified at least about 170 U.S. citizens who were arrested or detained by immigration agents since Trump returned to office; CBC and NPR repeat that figure when describing high‑profile civilian arrests captured on video ^{[1] [2]}. Poynter’s fact check also references the ProPublica work while noting additional documented citizen detentions in specific operations such as Operation Midway Blitz ^[5].

2. Why there’s no simple official number

ICE’s public statistics break out arrests by country of citizenship and criminal-history categories, but the agency’s published data and statements do not provide a definitive, aggregated count of how many U.S. citizens have been stopped, arrested, detained or deported in 2025 — a gap lawmakers have pressed DHS to fill ^{[3] [4]}. Congressman Dan Goldman and a group of senators demanded information and investigations precisely because “the full scope of the problem remains unclear,” citing poor record-keeping and directives to update citizenship data that may not have been followed ^[4].

3. Examples driving media attention and public concern

News reports and videos of individual cases — veterans, nurses, protestors and workers who say they were handcuffed or held despite presenting proof of citizenship — have amplified scrutiny of ICE tactics and helped fuel the 170+ tally cited in reporting ^{[1] [2] [6]}. CNN and The Guardian have documented aggressive enforcement tactics and an uptick in arrests during large operations and the 2025 government shutdown, noting that ICE continued large-scale enforcement even while other federal services were curtailed ^{[6] [7]}.

4. Disagreement and official framing

DHS and ICE have defended enforcement actions as targeted efforts against “criminal illegal aliens” and have pushed back against characterizations that agents are broadly detaining citizens, calling some reporting “smearing” of their tactics ^{[1] [6]}. Meanwhile fact-checkers and lawsuits show instances where citizens were detained and subsequently released when their identifications were checked, leading to competing narratives between agency officials and critics such as civil‑liberties groups and members of Congress ^{[5] [4]}.

5. Operational context: large raids, data and collateral arrests

Operation-level reporting shows thousands arrested in some campaigns (e.g., more than 3,000 in Midway Blitz and hundreds in other single-site actions), and commentators including former ICE officials have acknowledged “collateral arrests” of U.S. citizens can occur during large, location‑based operations ^{[5] [8]}. Analysts note that many people booked into ICE custody in 2025 lacked prior serious criminal convictions, which complicates public claims that enforcement focuses only on the “worst of the worst” ^{[6] [9]}.

6. Legal and oversight responses underway

Because of documented citizen detentions and gaps in ICE’s tracking, members of Congress including Dan Goldman and Senators Warren and Padilla pressed DHS for records and investigations; civil lawsuits from detained citizens are also cited in reporting as attempts to hold agents accountable ^{[4] [5]}. The call for oversight reflects both civil‑liberties concerns and disagreement over the adequacy of internal protocols for identifying citizenship in the field ^[4].

7. Limits of available reporting and what’s not addressed

Available sources do not provide a consolidated, agency‑verified total number of U.S. citizens arrested, detained or deported in 2025 across ICE, CBP and other DHS components; ProPublica’s documented 170+ cases are the most-cited independent tally but are not an official count ^{[3] [2]}. Detailed breakdowns by region, operation, or final disposition for all citizen cases are not published in the provided reporting ^[3].

8. How to interpret the figures and next steps for clarity

The best-verified public figure in the supplied reporting is “more than 170” U.S. citizens documented as detained or arrested in the current enforcement surge ^{[1] [2]}. For a clearer, authoritative total, congressional oversight or an ICE/DHS disclosure that tracks stops, arrests, detentions and removals by U.S. citizenship status would be required — a remedy lawmakers explicitly requested because public sources and agency data currently leave significant gaps ^{[4] [3]}.