How many lawful permanent residents were detained by ICE in 2025 compared with prior years?
Executive summary
Available reporting and advocacy materials document numerous cases and rising concern about lawful permanent residents (LPRs, “green‑card holders”) being arrested and held by ICE in 2025, but none of the provided sources give an exact, agency‑reported count comparing 2025 detentions of LPRs with prior years (available sources do not mention a precise comparative number) [1] [2] [3].
1. ICE’s public data gap — no clear headline number for LPR detentions in 2025
ICE’s public pages explain how detention works and that most people on its docket are not detained, but the agency materials in the record do not provide a breakdown showing how many detained people in 2025 were lawful permanent residents versus other immigration statuses; therefore there is no firm official comparative total in the supplied sources [4] [5]. Available sources do not mention a definitive ICE figure comparing 2025 with prior years.
2. Journalistic and advocacy reporting documents specific LPR detentions and a surge in high‑profile cases
Multiple news outlets and advocacy groups report individual LPR arrests and an apparent increase in visible enforcement actions in 2025: Axios summarized cases of permanent residents detained during the administration’s enforcement surge, including named examples like Mahmoud Khalil (an LPR) taken into custody [1]. The Conversation and The New York Times likewise document arrests and detentions of LPRs and say advocacy groups and monitoring organizations found that many people held had no recent criminal records [2] [6].
3. Independent reporting describes patterns but not totals
Investigations and opinion reporting describe a pattern — more aggressive arrests at ports of entry, workplace enforcement, and the removal of “sensitive‑location” protections — which increases the likelihood LPRs will be stopped, questioned and in some instances detained. Prism Reports notes an uptick in reports of LPRs held at ports of entry and says there is “no public data” on how many LPRs are stopped or put into proceedings, underscoring the absence of official totals in public reporting [3] [7].
4. Legal context: ICE can lawfully detain LPRs in certain circumstances
Legal explainers in the record make clear ICE has long‑standing statutory authority to detain many noncitizens, including LPRs, especially when a criminal conviction or mandatory‑detention trigger exists; they also note constitutional limits and the right to immigration‑court review [4] [2] [8]. These sources show detention of LPRs is legally permitted in specified cases, which complicates interpreting raw detention totals without case‑level detail [4] [8].
5. Political and budgetary drivers cited by sources that could raise detention numbers
Reporting links policy choices to capacity and enforcement goals: The Guardian cites a DHS push and a budget expansion to enlarge detention capacity with stated aims of detaining many more people — the article references $45 billion to expand ICE capacity and a goal of detaining over 100,000 people, context that could translate into increased detentions of various noncitizen groups including LPRs [9]. That reporting signals institutional capacity and political priorities that can drive higher detention counts even if it does not provide LPR‑specific totals [9].
6. Congressional and civil‑rights scrutiny underscores reporting gaps
Members of Congress and advocates have called for investigations and data transparency after high‑profile errors and alleged wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens and lawful residents; a 2025 congressional letter sought figures on how many citizens were stopped, arrested or detained and signals lawmakers want the same kind of accounting for noncitizens, but the supplied congressional materials do not include ICE’s response or LPR totals [10]. Available sources do not mention an ICE breakdown by residency status supplied to Congress in these items.
7. What can be done to answer the question authoritatively
To obtain a definitive, year‑over‑year number you would need a) ICE or DHS operational data that disaggregates detainees by immigration status for 2025 and prior years, or b) an independent dataset from monitoring organizations that tracks LPR detentions specifically. The supplied sources point to the absence of that breakdown in public-facing materials and to continued calls from journalists, advocates, and lawmakers for better transparency [3] [10] [1].
Limitations: the analysis above relies solely on the documents and articles provided; those sources document cases, legal context, policy drivers and advocacy claims but do not publish a definitive comparative count of LPRs detained by ICE in 2025 versus previous years (available sources do not mention a comparative total) [1] [3] [4].