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Fact check: Does ICE detain immigrants or just undocumented immigrants
1. Summary of the results
ICE definitively detains both documented and undocumented immigrants. According to official ICE sources, the agency has authority to detain "removable aliens" of various categories [1]. This includes legal permanent residents, visa holders, and individuals with no criminal records beyond immigration status [2] [3].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual points are missing from the original question:
- ICE specifically focuses on individuals who "pose a public safety or national security threat" [1]
- Between January and early March 2025, ICE conducted 32,000 arrests, with a "large proportion" having no criminal records other than immigration status [3]
- There are documented cases of legal visa holders being detained, such as student Rumeysa Öztürk [2]
- ICE's authority extends to any non-citizen who may be considered removable under immigration law [1]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The original question reflects a common misconception that ICE operations are limited to undocumented immigrants. This oversimplification benefits:
- Political actors who want to frame immigration enforcement as a simple "legal vs. illegal" issue
- Immigration hardliners who benefit from public perception that ICE only targets "illegal" immigrants
- ICE itself, as the broader scope of their authority is less widely understood than their more publicized operations against undocumented immigrants
The reality is more complex, as ICE has broad authority to detain various categories of non-citizens, including those who entered the country legally [1].