How many noncitizens did ICE detain annually in the same period, and how do those numbers compare to U.S. citizen detentions?
Executive summary
ICE data and independent trackers show ICE’s detained population surged in 2025 to roughly 65,000–66,000 people, and multiple reporting and research outlets say a large majority of those detained lacked criminal convictions — figures like “71%” or “around 65%” are cited by Migration Policy Institute and news outlets [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not publish a single, definitive annual count of how many noncitizens ICE detained "annually in the same period" broken down side-by-side with U.S. citizen detentions; reporting instead gives totals and percentages for detainees and documents dozens to a few hundred documented wrongful citizen detentions [1] [2] [4].
1. Record totals and the scale of non‑citizen detention
ICE and independent trackers report unprecedented detainee populations in 2025: TRAC and other compilers show roughly 65,000–66,000 people in ICE custody in mid-to-late 2025, which news outlets and advocacy groups describe as a historic high [1] [5] [6]. Migration Policy and trackers report that most of those held were noncitizens without criminal convictions — the Migration Policy Institute’s figure of about 71 percent without convictions is repeatedly cited in major outlets [2] [3].
2. What the sources say about noncitizen annual detentions
Sources present large aggregate detention counts and snapshots rather than a neat “annual noncitizen detained” line. ICE’s public dashboards and DHS monthly tables provide detention totals and book-ins/book-outs data for fiscal periods, but the articles and analyses cited in these search results summarize those dashboards to show tens of thousands held at once in 2025 [7] [8]. Reporting notes that more than 21,000 people with no criminal record were arrested and detained in specific operations during the 2025 shutdown period, illustrating the scale of noncitizen arrests in short windows [6].
3. How many U.S. citizens were detained by immigration authorities — what is documented
Independent investigations and news outlets document that U.S. citizens have been stopped or held by immigration agents in substantial numbers, but the totals in sources vary by methodology. ProPublica’s investigation identified more than 170 U.S. citizens held by immigration agents in 2025, and Politifact and other outlets cite that figure when assessing official denials [4]. Congressional letters and media reporting show lawmakers seeking DHS documentation because ICE does not regularly publish clear statistics on citizen detentions [9] [10].
4. Comparing the two: orders of magnitude and recordkeeping gaps
Available reporting makes the comparison stark in scale: tens of thousands of detainees in ICE custody are noncitizens in 2025 (overall detainee totals ~65,000), while documented U.S. citizen detentions identified by investigative reporting number in the low hundreds [1] [4]. But limitations matter: sources note ICE’s recordkeeping and reporting on citizen stops and wrongful detentions is incomplete, and DHS/ICE statements dispute some media claims and insist citizens are not subject to removal — creating a cluttered factual record that complicates precise numeric comparisons [11] [9].
5. Conflicting narratives and institutional framing
Government statements publicly deny systemic detention or removal of U.S. citizens and assert adherence to detention standards (DHS “debunks” messaging), while media investigations and NGOs document repeated cases where citizens were detained or mistakenly processed — prompting congressional demands for investigations [11] [9] [4]. Migration Policy, TRAC, and other independent analysts emphasize expansion of mandatory detention and a surge in noncriminal detainees as a policy shift under the 2025 administration [2] [12].
6. What’s missing in the public data and why it matters
Sources show robust dashboards for arrests and detention counts but do not provide a single authoritative annual breakdown that answers “how many noncitizens did ICE detain annually in the same period” paired directly with a certified count of U.S. citizen detentions; ICE has not publicly released a running, verified statistic of citizen detentions in 2025, and reporters rely on investigations and FOIA-driven compilations [7] [10]. That gap allows competing narratives: advocates highlight systemic overreach and mass noncriminal detention [2], while DHS pushes back that reports are exaggerated or inaccurate [11].
7. Bottom line for readers
If your question is about magnitudes: independent trackers and reporting place noncitizen detainees in the tens of thousands (total ICE population ~65k–66k in 2025) and show the majority lacked criminal convictions (about 65–71% in cited analyses), whereas documented U.S. citizen detentions identified in investigations number in the low hundreds — but ICE’s incomplete public accounting of citizen stops prevents a fully audited, side‑by‑side annual comparison in the available sources [1] [2] [3] [4] [10].
Limitations: available sources do not provide a single tabulation answering the exact annual noncitizen vs. citizen detained counts you asked for; the figures above are derived from ICE dashboards, TRAC compilations, Migration Policy Institute summaries and investigative reporting cited in the documents above [7] [1] [2] [3] [4].