Has ice arrested legal immigrants
Executive summary
Yes — multiple reputable reports and agency data show ICE has arrested people who held lawful or pending immigration statuses, as well as many detainees without criminal convictions, even while the Department of Homeland Security publicly emphasizes removals of criminal noncitizens [1] [2] [3].
1. What the numbers actually show: a surge in interior arrests and many non‑criminal detainees
Public data and independent trackers document a sharp rise in ICE arrests and detention levels in 2025–26, with ICE booking tens of thousands into custody and the detained population reaching record highs; TRAC reports tens of thousands booked in single months and a national detention population that climbed above prior records [4] [5], independent analysis finds the detained population reached roughly 68,990 as of early January 2026 [6], and news aggregations and The Guardian report the administration had arrested more than 328,000 people by late 2025 while the largest share of those held in detention had no criminal record beyond immigration violations [7] [2].
2. Reporting on arrests of people with legal or pending status — concrete cases and patterns
Local and state reporting has documented multiple instances where people who attended routine immigration check‑ins, court hearings, or citizenship/green card appointments were arrested and detained — a reporter’s case series in San Diego found people detained after complying with routine check‑ins, including individuals with pending legal claims, and one man spent nearly seven weeks in custody after such an arrest [8], while The Dallas Morning News documented that the majority arrested by the Dallas ICE office in 2025 lacked criminal convictions, and that people were being detained after showing up for scheduled immigration appointments [9], and advocacy groups and the National Immigration Law Center warn that ICE has been arresting people even with pending applications or temporary legal statuses [1].
3. The federal message vs. enforcement practice: “worst of the worst” claims and competing data
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE have publicized high‑profile arrest campaigns billed as removing the “worst of the worst” criminals and emphasized increased manpower to pursue criminal noncitizens [3] [10] [11], yet multiple independent analyses and reporting show a different enforcement mix: agency figures and Reuters reporting indicate a substantial fraction — roughly 41% of a large recent arrest cohort, per Reuters reporting — had no criminal record beyond suspected immigration violations [2], and watchdogs and journalists contrast the official rhetoric with the on‑the‑ground reality of many non‑criminal detentions [6] [7].
4. Legal gray zones and the status of “legal” immigrants in ICE operations
The term “legal immigrant” covers a range of statuses — lawful permanent residents, people with temporary status, and applicants with pending petitions — and reporting shows ICE arrests have included people with valid or pending claims; courts and advocates note that having a pending application does not immunize someone from detention, and community alerts explicitly warn that people with pending applications from specific countries have been at risk of airport and interior arrests [1] [8]. ICE’s own enforcement guidance says custody decisions consider criminal history, family ties and humanitarian issues, but the documented spike in arrests of people without criminal convictions indicates those discretionary standards have often led to detention regardless of lawful or pending statuses [12] [6].
5. What this means and the limits of available reporting
The combined record from DHS statements, independent trackers and investigative reporting paints a clear conclusion: ICE has been arresting people who are not clear criminal targets — including individuals with pending immigration cases or forms of lawful status — even as the agency highlights removals of convicted offenders [3] [2] [1] [7]; however, publicly available sources in this collection do not provide a single authoritative tally separating lawful permanent residents, temporary lawful status holders, and applicants from the broader arrest totals, so precise counts of “legal immigrants arrested” cannot be produced from these reports alone [4] [5].