The answer is a resounding yes
The question on everyone’s mind is urgent and alarming: has ICE detained legal residents in America? The answer is a resounding yes. Federal immigration authorities have swept up thousands of lawful immigrants in an enforcement surge that now holds approximately 73,000 individuals in custody nationwide. Green card holders, DACA recipients, and even U.S. citizens have been caught in detention operations that exceed any point in the agency’s 23-year history.
The numbers reveal a dramatic shift in immigration enforcement. As of mid-January 2026, ICE detention figures represent an 84 percent increase from the same period in 2025, when numbers hovered below 40,000. For the first time ever, the agency simultaneously detains more than 70,000 people, and legal residents with established lives in America are among them.
Do you know your rights if ICE approaches you? Understanding your legal protections could be the difference between detention and freedom. Read on to learn what every legal resident needs to know today.
Who Gets Detained
The profile of those being detained has shifted dramatically. Arrests of individuals with no criminal record surged by 2,450 percent during 2025. The percentage of people arrested by ICE and held in detention with no criminal record rose from 6 percent in January 2025 to 41 percent by December of that year.
Green card holders face detention despite their lawful permanent resident status. A father of two from Trinidad, who came to the United States at age four, was detained at an airport because of a past criminal conviction. He had been told this conviction would not jeopardize his legal status. His case illustrates the reality of how has ICE detained legal residents with established families, jobs, and decades of life in America.
Individuals with pending applications for immigration benefits are not protected from arrest. People married to U.S. citizens with pending green card applications have been detained. One man married to a U.S. citizen, with no criminal history, spent seven weeks in detention despite an immigration judge ruling he could be released on bond. He had fled religious persecution in his home country.
DACA Recipients Under Fire
Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals have been detained despite holding valid work permits. Catalina Santiago, a community organizer from El Paso, was detained at an airport in August 2025 while attempting to board a domestic flight. She presented valid work authorization but was arrested anyway.
Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira, a 27-year-old DACA recipient and father of four U.S. citizen children, was detained on August 13, 2025. Seven federal agents surrounded his vehicle in his driveway while two of his young children sat in the car. He remained in detention for 42 days before a federal court ordered his release.
Tracking by advocacy groups identifies more than 20 DACA recipients detained across the United States in recent months. The Department of Homeland Security has stated that DACA does not confer legal status and that recipients may be subject to arrest and deportation for various reasons, including criminal activity.
Where Enforcement Happens
ICE arrests occur in locations that were previously considered routine or safe. People attending mandatory immigration court hearings have been detained. Individuals complying with required ICE check-ins are arrested when they appear for these appointments. This practice punishes people for following legal obligations.
Workplace raids have increased substantially. ICE targets farms, construction sites, factories, and other businesses in enforcement operations. Green card holders working at these locations may be detained to verify their status, even when they carry proper documentation.
Airports have become high-risk locations for legal residents. Green card holders returning from international travel face scrutiny at ports of entry. Past convictions or unresolved immigration issues can trigger detention and referral to ICE for removal proceedings.
The elimination of sensitive location protections in 2025 means ICE can conduct enforcement at schools, hospitals, and churches where the agency previously avoided operations. This policy change increases the chance of mistaken detentions and creates fear in immigrant communities.
Read Also-Korean Ice Detained: Westchester High School Grad Held by ICE After Routine Visa Hearing
U.S. Citizens Caught in the Sweep
American citizens have been wrongfully detained by ICE. Scott Thao, a U.S. citizen, was removed from his Minnesota home in his underwear after ICE agents entered without a judicial warrant. He was later returned home.
Maria Greeley, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen from Chicago, was detained by ICE officers in October 2025. They surrounded her on her way home from work, forced her hands behind her back, and zip-tied her. They questioned her for an hour and accused her of lying when she produced her passport as proof of citizenship.
On January 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot in Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross during an immigration enforcement operation. The killing sparked protests involving thousands of people across the nation.
Studies document hundreds of cases between 2003 and 2019 where ICE detained or attempted to deport U.S. citizens. While this number represents a small fraction of total ICE arrests, it demonstrates that wrongful detention of citizens remains a serious risk.
Legal Rights During ICE Encounters
Everyone in the United States, regardless of immigration status, has constitutional protections under the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. ICE officers, like all law enforcement, are bound by the Constitution.
When encountering ICE, individuals should ask: “Am I being detained or am I free to leave?” If officers say you are free to go, you can calmly walk away. If they say you are being detained, invoke your right to remain silent and request an attorney immediately.
ICE cannot enter a private home without a warrant signed by a judge unless residents grant consent. The Supreme Court has generally ruled that law enforcement needs judicial warrants showing probable cause to enter private residences. Residents do not have to open the door, converse with agents, or allow entry without seeing a proper warrant.
Administrative warrants issued by ICE without a judge’s signature have limited authority. A May 12, 2025 memo from ICE stated that the Department of Homeland Security has recently determined these warrants can be used to arrest individuals at their homes, but the constitutionality of this policy remains unclear if challenged in court.
Do not sign any documents without consulting an attorney. ICE paperwork may involve agreeing to give up legal rights or to leave the country. Never run or physically resist, as this can escalate the situation and lead to additional charges.
Bond and Release Challenges
New policies have made prolonged detention the norm. The Trump administration issued directives requiring mandatory detention for almost all noncitizens who entered the United States without authorization. This policy strips millions of people of the right to have a bond hearing where they can make a case for release into their community while their immigration case proceeds.
From January through November 2025, discretionary releases from detention fell by 87 percent. ICE stopped issuing discretionary releases, requiring detained immigrants to petition immigration judges for release on bond instead.
By November 2025, for every person released from ICE detention, more than fourteen were deported directly from custody. This compares to an approximate one-to-two ratio from a year earlier. The system now produces deportations rather than allowing people to fight their cases while living in their communities.
Some green card holders are eligible for bond, but ICE holds others in mandatory detention. The agency is supposed to inform detained individuals whether they qualify for bond within 48 hours of arrest. If ICE sets a high bond or denies it entirely, the person can request a bond hearing before an immigration judge.
Attorneys Fight Back with Habeas Corpus
Immigration attorneys increasingly turn to federal courts to secure client releases because of disruptions to the immigration court system. Before President Trump’s second term, federal habeas corpus lawsuits were not regularly used in immigration cases.
In 2025, hundreds of habeas cases were filed in the Southern District of California alone, and thousands were filed nationwide for detained immigrants. So far in 2026, about a dozen such cases have already been filed in the Southern District of California.
Habeas corpus is the constitutional right ensuring people can challenge their imprisonment before a judge. These petitions have proven effective when the government cannot justify continued detention. In several cases, the government has declined to oppose release, effectively acknowledging that continued detention was inappropriate.
The Trump administration has fired more than 100 immigration judges nationwide. In California, more than a quarter of federal immigration judges have been fired, retired, or quit since Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. In San Francisco, at least 12 immigration judges have been fired or left without clear explanations, worsening a 100,000-case backlog.
Detention Conditions Deteriorate
The detention system has expanded so rapidly that conditions have worsened substantially. Through early December 2025, ICE used over 100 more facilities to detain immigrants than at the start of the year.
For the first time, thousands of immigrants arrested in the interior are detained in hastily-constructed tent camps. Detained individuals report unsafe conditions including no drinkable water, no medical attention, and visitation restricted to only one day per week.
More people died in ICE detention in 2025 than in the last four years combined. The rapid expansion, combined with decreased oversight, has created life-threatening situations for those held in custody.
Congress authorized $45 billion in new detention funding. The Trump administration aims to detain upwards of 100,000 immigration detainees at any given time. With this funding, the detention system could more than triple in size over the next four years.
How to Protect Yourself
Green card holders should always carry their permanent resident card and a secondary form of identification. Keep copies of your green card, passport, and U.S.-based records such as leases or tax returns in a safe place.
Share immigration attorney contact information with family members in case of detention. Memorize your attorney’s phone number rather than relying solely on your cellphone’s contacts, as phones may be confiscated during arrest.
Do not carry fraudulent documents. If ICE detains you, possessing fake documentation will severely damage your case and could lead to criminal charges on top of immigration violations.
Consider signing privacy waiver forms that allow ICE to share information about your case with designated individuals. Leave these forms with trusted loved ones in case of detention, as ICE will not share case information without signed waivers.
Set up temporary guardianships so trusted adults can care for your children if you are detained. ICE has a policy stating parents in detention have the right to make decisions about their children, but the agency does not always follow its own policies.
If you believe your rights were violated during an ICE encounter, your options for suing for compensation are limited. Unlike many state laws, federal law generally prohibits civil lawsuits against federal officials for violating people’s rights. However, documenting violations through written complaints and working with advocacy organizations can create a record of abuses.
Preparation Before International Travel
Legal residents face heightened scrutiny when returning to the United States from international travel. Customs and Border Protection officers can detain green card holders at ports of entry if concerns arise during inspection, including criminal record checks or suspected fraud.
Green card holders can be treated as applicants for admission if they trigger statutory flags such as long absences from the United States, certain criminal grounds, or fraud indicators. Once treated as an applicant for admission, they face the same scrutiny as someone applying for initial entry.
Before traveling internationally, gather and organize documentation showing ties to the United States. Carry evidence of employment, property ownership, family relationships, and community involvement. This documentation can help demonstrate that the United States remains your permanent home.
Consult with an immigration attorney before international travel if you have any past criminal convictions, even minor ones, or if you have been absent from the United States for extended periods. An attorney can assess your specific risk factors and advise whether travel is safe.
The Road Ahead
The expansion of immigration detention shows no signs of slowing. With billions in new funding and stated goals of tripling capacity, more legal residents will likely face detention in coming years.
Understanding your rights, preparing documentation, and having a plan in case of detention are now essential for anyone with immigration concerns. The landscape has changed dramatically, and what was once improbable for legal residents with clean records has become a documented reality.
Legal challenges to detention policies are ongoing. Courts will ultimately decide whether administrative warrants alone can justify home arrests, whether mandatory detention policies violate due process, and what constitutional protections apply to different categories of immigrants.
For now, the message is clear: legal status alone does not guarantee protection from detention. Even U.S. citizens have been caught in enforcement operations. Knowledge of your rights and advance preparation offer the best protection in this uncertain environment.
What happens when legal residents with families, jobs, and deep community ties are swept into detention? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below—your voice matters in this national conversation.
