who does ice target

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a U.S. federal agency that enforces immigration laws and investigates a wide range of cross‑border crimes, and its “targets” depend on the specific unit and policy priorities at the time.

Core mission and who ICE focuses on

ICE’s stated mission is to enforce immigration and customs laws in order to protect national security and public safety. Within ICE, there are two main arms that “target” different kinds of people:

• Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) focuses on locating, detaining, and deporting people who are in the U.S. without lawful status or who have violated the terms of their visas.

• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) targets people involved in transnational crimes such as human trafficking, smuggling, drug and weapons trafficking, child exploitation, financial crimes, and other serious offenses.

Who ICE says it prioritizes

In public explanations and legal practice guides, ICE and immigration experts describe several priority categories for immigration arrests and raids.

Common priority groups include:

• People with certain criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, especially those considered threats to public safety or national security.

• People with known gang affiliations or who are suspected of violent transnational gang activity.

• People who recently crossed the border without authorization or re‑entered after a prior deportation.

• People who have violated immigration terms, such as overstaying a visa or ignoring a final order of removal.

In worksite operations, ICE also targets workplaces believed to employ high numbers of undocumented workers and may arrest both workers and sometimes managers or owners if they are suspected of knowingly employing unauthorized labor.

How this looks in practice under recent policy

Recent research on arrest patterns under the current administration indicates that while ICE publicly emphasizes “those who pose the greatest threat to public safety and border security,” a substantial and growing share of those arrested have no criminal conviction. Many arrests occur through:

• Criminal Alien Program (CAP) : screening people in local, state, and federal jails to identify those ICE can deport.

• Non‑custodial or “at‑large” arrests : arrests at homes, workplaces, or in the community, which often sweep in people without serious or any criminal records.

One analysis found that, from 2025 onward, increased arrest quotas and expanded operations have led to more arrests of immigrants with no criminal history, even as the agency continues to say it prioritizes serious offenders.

Surveillance, raids, and how “targets” are identified

Advocacy and legal organizations document that ICE builds cases and finds targets through a mix of data systems and on‑the‑ground surveillance.

Key methods include:

• Using shared databases (criminal records, DMV data, local law‑enforcement information, and other government or commercial databases) to identify people with deportable status or outstanding removal orders.

• Field surveillance around homes and workplaces to visually confirm a person’s identity, learn their routine, and determine who lives with them.

• Worksite investigations focusing on industries that are known to employ many non‑citizens, such as certain factories, farms, or food‑processing plants.

Rights groups also report that ICE sometimes uses “ruses” (for example, pretending to be local police or using misleading stories) to locate and arrest the specific non‑citizen they are targeting.

Broader concerns and debate about who is “really” targeted

Civil liberties and immigrant‑rights organizations argue that in practice ICE’s reach has extended well beyond people with serious criminal histories. Concerns include:

• Increased arrests of long‑time residents with deep community ties but minor or no criminal records.

• Use of expansive surveillance and information‑sharing systems to locate and track immigrants and, potentially, political protesters.

• Reports that ICE’s surveillance tools—such as phone‑hacking spyware and biometric databases—could be used to monitor or intimidate people engaged in lawful political activity.

At the same time, supporters of strict enforcement say ICE should aggressively target anyone without legal status, arguing that this upholds the rule of law and deters future unauthorized immigration.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.