Immigration articles
What is ICE and what does it do?
Since 2003, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been responsible for enforcing federal laws governing customs, trade, and immigration. ICE was created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which was passed after 9/11. This act created the DHS and reorganized existing agencies, merging the US Customs Service (formerly under the Treasury Department) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (formerly under the Justice Department) to form ICE. ICE’s mission is to preserve American security and public safety, mainly within US borders, by enforcing immigration laws. This primarily involves detaining, deporting, and convicting unauthorized immigrants. It also assists international investigations into criminal organizations and terrorist networks that threaten or seek to exploit US customs and immigration laws. It operates with a staff of over 20,000 across 400+ global offices and an annual budget of around $8 billion.
What does the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) do?
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is a subdivision of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for overseeing lawful immigration to the United States. The agency administers the nation's naturalization and immigration system, processes applications for citizenship, and manages the issuance of various immigration benefits. It also ensures the integrity of the immigration system by preventing fraud and enhancing security measures. It was established in 2003.
What does the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) do?
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a subdivision of the US Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing immigration laws, investigating criminal activities, and ensuring national security. ICE conducts investigations, detains and deports individuals who violate immigration laws, and works to dismantle criminal organizations involved in human trafficking, drug smuggling, and other illegal activities. It was established in 2003.
What does the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) do?
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a subdivision of the US Department of Homeland Security responsible for safeguarding the nation's borders and facilitating lawful international trade and travel. The agency enforces immigration laws, prevents the illegal entry of goods and individuals, and ensures the security of the US border. It also works to prevent the trafficking of drugs, weapons, and other contraband. It was established in 2003.
What does the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) do?
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a subdivision of the Department of Justice responsible for adjudicating immigration cases by interpreting and administering immigration laws. The agency conducts immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings. It aims to ensure the fair and uniform application of immigration laws. It was established in 1983.
What FBI data says about law enforcement use-of-force
A Minneapolis woman was shot and killed by an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent on the morning of January 7, sparking nationwide protests and further conversation around law enforcement-involved shootings.In 2019, the FBI launched an effort to provide nationwide statistics on use-of-force incidents known as the National Use-of-Force Data Collection.What is use-of-force?There is no single definition of “use-of-force,” a term often used to describe scenarios in which law enforcement officers use physical intervention during an arrest or an incident. The National Use-of-Force Data Collection tracks incidents during which law enforcement activity results in someone’s death or serious injury, or when an officer fires a gun at somebody.When is use-of-force legal?The nation has nearly 100 federal and over 19,000 state and local law enforcement agencies. There's no single policy on when force is warranted.The Department of Justice — home to the FBI and the department employing the second-most law enforcement officers — permits officers to use “only the force that is objectively reasonable to effectively gain control of an incident, while protecting the safety of the officer and others.” The policy specifies it must only be used in cases with no feasible alternatives.The Department of Homeland Security, which is home to ICE, employs more officers than any other federal department. It uses similar language similar to the Justice Department to define its use-of-force policy. Both cite the 1989 Supreme Court case Graham v. Connor, which established this standard of “objective reasonableness.”
How many immigrants are in the US?
About 50.2 million in 2024. This represents approximately 14.8% of the population, or about 1 in 7 residents in the United States. Immigrants are defined as foreign-born residents, which includes people who became US citizens, are authorized to come to the US (e.g., on work visas, student visas), or are undocumented residents.
How many immigrants get green cards every year?
About 1.17 million during fiscal year (FY) 2023, 15.2% more than the previous year. That’s the number of people who became lawful permanent residents (LPR) of the U.S., commonly known as green card holders. Green cards grant immigrants the right to live and work permanently in the US with a path toward citizenship. The total includes individuals who obtained green cards through family sponsorship, employment, refugee or asylum status, and other avenues.
How many people does ICE arrest?
149,070 arrests by the two operational branches of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in fiscal year (FY) 2024. That includes 113,430 administrative arrests (76.1% of total arrests) conducted by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), as well as criminal arrests: 3,032 by ERO and 32,608 by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the transnational criminal investigative division of ICE.
How many DACA recipients are there?
About 515,600 people at the end of June 2025 — about the same as the population of Killeen-Temple, TX Metro Area. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program created in 2012 for people who came to the US as children and who do not have legal immigration status. People accepted into DACA and who maintain active status with the program are protected from deportation and are allowed to apply for work authorization, but do not receive legal immigration status or have a path to citizenship.
How many people apprehended at US borders have a prior criminal conviction?
About 17,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2024. The criminal arrests of people who are not US citizens — referred to as aliens in federal law — represents 1.1% of all border apprehensions by the US Border Patrol (USBP) through September 2024, the end of the federal fiscal year. Because one person may be arrested multiple times in the same fiscal year, it’s possible to have more arrests than people arrested.
How many illegal crossings are attempted at the US-Mexico border each month?
About 8,400 attempted crossings were detected in September 2025, 84.4% fewer than in September 2024. These attempted crossings, sometimes referred to as “encounters,” are instances when the US Border Patrol (USBP) apprehended or expelled someone attempting to illegally cross into the US between official ports of entry. This number does not necessarily represent individual people, as one person may be counted several times if they make multiple attempts to cross the border.
What countries does the US recognize?
The US recognizes 196 other countries as independent states and has positive diplomatic relations with 193 of them — all but Bhutan, Iran, and North Korea. Along with the 196 nations, the US government recognizes 64 dependencies and other sovereign areas.
Are immigration judges keeping up with rising caseloads?
There’s long been a backlog of immigration cases — but it’s increased by a factor of nearly six from FY 2015 to 2024. In FY 2024, the case backlog reached 3.9 million. The backlog is a function of the number of new cases, the number of cases completed, and the number of available judges. Asylum applications are a large driver of new cases, but non-asylum cases have also increased in the last decade.
Which industries employ the most immigrant workers?
In 2024, close to 20% of the US workforce was foreign-born; of 161.1 million employees, about 30.8 million were immigrants. In 2010, immigrants were 15.6% of the workforce. Immigrants are employed across industries, with concentrations in education, health, and professional services. Which industries employ the most immigrants?Educational and health services organizations employed the most immigrants — 5.6 million in 2024, 18.1% of all foreign-born employees. This was followed by professional and business services with 4.7 million (15.4%) and construction with 3.5 million (11.4%).
How long can it take to become a US citizen?
There’s no single timeline for becoming a US citizen. For some, the journey is a few years; for others, it spans decades. Processing times, federally mandated annual visa limits, and mandatory waiting periods mean that the same goal — citizenship — is obtained in very different ways depending on where a person is from and how they begin their journey.
Where do foreign students attend school?
As of June 2025, 151,015 international students were studying in California, most of any state. This number reflects those who hold F-1 or M-1 student visas and maintain active student status.
What types of work visas and green cards does the US issue?
In FY 2024, 95.2% of work-related arrivals came on temporary visas, while 4.8% received green cards for work. People immigrating to the US for work have two visa options: temporary visas or employer-sponsored green cards that offer permanent residence. The government admits immigrants for multiple reasons: to reunite families, provide safety for refugees, and expand labor pools for seasonal work, among others.In FY 2024, most authorized immigrants — 40% — were admitted on work-related visas. Qualifying for either a temporary work visa or a green card depends on a range of factors, including offers of employment and measures of personal and professional achievement.
How does US law enforcement work? Who has jurisdiction?
High-profile law enforcement activity across the US in 2025 has raised questions about overlapping jurisdictions.How is law enforcement structured in the US?There are about 17,600 government agencies involved in law enforcement in the US, including nearly 100 federal agencies and 17,500 state and local agencies.Their jurisdictions are divided along a few lines: the type of crime, who’s involved, and geography, e.g.:The Drug Enforcement Administration within the Justice Department, as the name suggests, enforces laws and regulations having to do with controlled substances, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division, within the Treasury, investigates potential tax compliance violations.The 72 Offices of Inspectors General in federal agencies investigate fraud and abuse within those agencies.State and local law enforcement agencies, along with some federal agencies, generally focus on crime within their geographical boundaries.This structure allows for considerable jurisdictional overlap, which in turn can create considerable confusion.When do state and local police have jurisdiction?Crime response is mainly the responsibility of state and local governments, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.State and local law enforcement agencies enforce laws according to their state and local legislation, which tends to be bound by geography: Local police departments are responsible for towns and cities. At the county level, there’s often an elected sheriff. State police perform statewide investigations across county or municipal borders, patrol highways, and cover areas with no local police of their own.
Are immigrants eligible for government assistance?
Federal programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, and food assistance (e.g., SNAP) have strict eligibility rules that are often based on income or work history. For immigrants, there’s typically another requirement: an eligible immigration status.