What are the top 5 states with the most ICE arrests in 2025?
Executive summary
The clearest, consistent signal across government releases compiled by the Deportation Data Project and contemporaneous reporting is that the largest raw counts of ICE arrests in 2025 clustered in Texas, Florida and California, with Georgia and Arizona also among the highest-volume states in early and mid‑2025 (raw counts, Jan–June and broader ICE releases) [1] [2]. Multiple analyses and advocates’ briefings describe the nationwide surge in arrests under the 2025 federal enforcement push, but they also warn that rankings can shift depending on the exact date range and whether one uses raw counts or rates per population or per non‑citizen residents [3] [4].
1. The short answer — the top five by total arrests (most consistently reported)
Across public compilations of ICE’s own enforcement data, Texas sits at the top of the list, followed by Florida and California; Georgia and Arizona ordinarily appear next among the highest total arrest counts reported through mid‑2025, with those five states accounting for a very large share of national arrests in the initial months of the enforcement surge [1] [2]. Newsweek’s map of Deportation Data Project figures covering January 20–June 26, 2025, explicitly lists Texas, Florida and California as the three largest contributors to national arrest totals and cites Georgia and Arizona as notable contributors thereafter [1].
2. Why those five states dominate the headline counts
The clustering reflects a mix of factors documented by researchers and journalists: sheer immigrant population size and geographic proximity to border enforcement activity (Texas, Arizona, California), policy and law‑enforcement collaboration differences that make transfers from local jails to ICE more frequent (some Southern and Sun Belt jurisdictions), and administrative directives pushing for more community and jail‑based arrests in 2025 [3] [5] [2]. Reporting and data compilations show that ICE dramatically increased both jail referrals and at‑large community operations in 2025, producing concentrated volumes in states where ICE operations were largest [3] [5].
3. Key caveats — counts versus rates, time windows, and reporting gaps
The apparent “top five” depends critically on choices: raw arrest counts differ from per‑capita or per‑noncitizen arrest rates; for example, per‑capita lists emphasize states like Utah and Tennessee that rank higher when adjusting for population [6]. The Deportation Data Project’s public dataset covers different time windows (some releases through mid‑October 2025) and Newsweek’s visualization focused on January–June 2025, so rankings can change if later months or the full year are included [2] [1]. Independent analysts warn roughly 7% of ICE arrests are hard to attribute to a state in some releases, and some local jail transfers and multi‑jurisdictional operations complicate state attribution [7] [2].
4. Alternative readings and possible agendas in the coverage
Advocacy organizations such as Prison Policy highlight how state and local collaboration — or resistance — to ICE shapes arrest volumes and emphasize jail transfers as a primary mechanism for deportation flows, an angle that can foreground certain states where jails cooperate [3]. Pro‑enforcement narratives and some administration statements frame the surge as targeting public‑safety risks, but independent reporting finds a rising share of arrests were for immigration status alone rather than serious criminal convictions, a point highlighted by Stateline and other reporters [7]. Data hosts (Deportation Data Project) are transparent about methodology and FOIA origins, but any consumer of this reporting should weigh raw counts alongside per‑capita rates and legal challenges that altered enforcement practices through the year [2] [7].
5. Bottom line — what can be stated with confidence and what remains uncertain
It is supportable to say Texas, Florida and California were the largest single‑state contributors to ICE arrest totals in the main 2025 reporting windows, with Georgia and Arizona routinely appearing among the next highest by raw counts; however, precise ranking beyond that core trio varies by dataset, date range, and whether counts are normalized for population or immigrant population [1] [2] [6]. The datasets underpinning these conclusions are public but parceled into multiple releases, and some legal and reporting developments through late 2025 changed enforcement patterns, so any definitive year‑end ranking should cite the exact ICE release or analysis window used [2] [3].