Which states has ICE and Homeland Security had operations in since 2025
Executive summary
Federal reporting and news coverage make clear that ICE and other DHS components have mounted operations across the country since January 20, 2025, with the agencies describing arrests and deployments nationwide and independent reporting documenting high-profile actions in a number of specific states [1] [2] [3]. Public-facing DHS materials name operations and arrests in states including California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Virginia, Florida, Maine, and Ohio, while agency staffing and deployment documents indicate ICE presence in all 50 states and the District of Columbia [1] [2] [4] [3] [5].
1. Nationwide footprint: what the agencies themselves say
ICE and DHS publications state that ICE maintains personnel deployed across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and DHS reporting of component activity describes operations, arrests, and mission activity occurring at a national scale since the new administration took office in January 2025 [1] [4]. DHS also highlighted immigration-related arrests of national security threats since January 20, 2025, and DHS public releases promote multiple named operations and regional surges [5] [2].
2. DHS‑reported multi‑state operations and component claims
DHS press materials describe component activities across dozens of states: the department’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office listed operations, trainings and exercises across 48 states and territories in 2025, and DHS site releases detail named ICE operations such as Operation Buckeye and Operation Metro Surge tied to particular states [2] [6] [7]. ICE and DHS statements therefore frame enforcement as a broad, multi‑state campaign rather than confined to a handful of jurisdictions [2] [6].
3. Independent reporting: where the raids, arrests and controversies were documented
Investigations and public reporting have documented or chronicled ICE activity in specific states: large-scale actions and protests in Los Angeles/California were reported amid summer 2025 enforcement [8] [4]; Operation Midway Blitz and related arrests were reported in Chicago/Illinois [9]; state-by-state arrest data and analysis point to activity in New Jersey and New York, with notable differences in arrest profiles between those states [3]; and DHS releases and coverage cite operations in Minnesota, Virginia (Arlington), Florida (including reporting on detention practices in Florida facilities), Maine, and Ohio [7] [5] [8] [6].
4. Human costs, pushback and contested narratives
Independent outlets and advocacy groups have spotlighted detention deaths and alleged abuses tied to ICE custody in 2025—The Guardian and detention monitors documented an unusually high number of in‑custody deaths and local protests, particularly tied to operations and facilities in states like Florida and in detention systems nationwide—while DHS has pushed back by emphasizing national security arrests and law‑enforcement metrics [9] [8] [5]. These competing framings reflect an explicit DHS agenda to highlight “worst of the worst” arrests and a strong counter‑narrative from advocacy groups about detention conditions [2] [9].
5. Limits of available public data and caution on exhaustiveness
While ICE’s own workforce and DHS reporting portray a nationwide enforcement footprint [1] [2], publicly available summaries, press releases and journalism do not provide a single comprehensive, granular list of every state where operations took place after January 20, 2025; researchers must rely on a mix of DHS statements, ICE arrest datasets with state breakdowns, and independent reporting that highlights notable operations in particular states [3] [4]. Given those limits, the clearest supported conclusions are that enforcement actions occurred across the country—including but not limited to California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Virginia, Florida, Maine, and Ohio—and that ICE has personnel and conducts activities in all 50 states and D.C. [1] [3] [2].