Fact check: How often does ICE detain green card holders without criminal records?

1. Summary of the results

ICE detention of green card holders without criminal records has significantly increased in recent years. As of January 2025, ICE held 39,703 adult detainees, more than 2.5 times the number at the end of the Trump administration ^[1]. Of these detainees, non-criminal immigrants grew 3.2 times between January and February 2025, representing 14% of all detainees ^[2]. In Fiscal Year 2024, 28% of ICE arrests targeted individuals with no criminal backgrounds ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements emerge from the analyses:

• Policy Shift: There has been a fundamental change in how USCIS views green card status, increasingly treating it as a "privilege" rather than a stable legal protection ^[3].
• Specific Cases: Multiple documented cases demonstrate this trend:
• Fabian Schmidt, a German green card holder, was detained for over two months without formal charges ^{[4] [5]}
• Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist, was detained despite his legal permanent resident status ^[6]
• Historical Context: This represents a significant departure from traditional immigration enforcement policies, where green card holders were typically only at risk of deportation for serious criminal behavior ^[6].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself might suggest that such detentions are rare or exceptional, when the data shows they are becoming increasingly common. Several stakeholders have vested interests in how this information is presented:

• Government Agencies: ICE's actions contradict their stated priorities of focusing on individuals with criminal convictions ^[2], suggesting a potential disconnect between public messaging and actual enforcement practices.
• Advocacy Groups: Organizations supporting immigrant rights benefit from highlighting these cases to demonstrate systemic issues in immigration enforcement.
• Political Actors: Both sides of the immigration debate can use these statistics to support their positions - either to demonstrate the need for stricter enforcement or to highlight potential civil rights violations.