Fact check: What specific changes did Biden make to ICE operations compared to previous administrations?

1. Summary of the results

Under Biden's administration, ICE has undergone significant operational changes while maintaining its basic structure. The most notable changes include:

• Narrowing enforcement priorities to focus only on serious criminals, national security threats, and recent border crossers (after November 2020) ^[1]
• Requiring senior leadership approval for enforcement actions outside priority categories ^[2]
• Achieving historically low detention and deportation numbers, with only 2,962 deportations in April 2025 ^[2]
• Reducing ICE arrests by approximately 50% ^[1]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important aspects challenge the narrative of substantial reform:

• Despite campaign promises to reduce private detention, the percentage of for-profit detention contracts has actually increased from 80% to over 90% under Biden ^[3]
• The administration is proceeding with plans to build a new ICE headquarters ^[3]
• Biden has maintained Trump-era social media surveillance practices, including:
• Contractor-led monitoring of social media
• Tracking of negative sentiment
• Use of "social and behavioral sciences" for risk detection ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself might suggest a binary "before/after" comparison, when the reality is more complex:

• Progressive Democrats benefit from highlighting operational restrictions and reduced arrests to show reform success ^[3]
• Private detention companies have actually benefited financially from Biden's policies through increased contracts ^[3]
• Immigration activists like Cinthya Rodriguez argue that fundamental surveillance practices remain unchanged, suggesting less dramatic reform than portrayed ^[4]
• The Biden administration benefits from emphasizing "qualitative" over "quantitative" metrics to justify reduced deportation numbers while maintaining core ICE functions ^[2]