# Question about what ICE agents (goons) are up to **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067 "2025-08-14T22:02:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/1 "2025-08-14T22:02:21Z")
Someone asked me what the acronym ICE stood for ([Immigration and Customs Enforcement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement)). When I explained, they said that ICE was removing illegals from the United States. I objected to that characterization because some percentage of those being manhandled by these goons were in fact here legally before their status was revoked for whatever reason. So anyone have any idea what percentage of those being arrested by these goons were, in fact, completely undocumented versus those whose visa were revoked? Also when visas are revoked, how quickly are people being arrested? Are they given an opportunity to leave voluntarily and not in manacles? FYI, [here is a gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/31/us/ice-deportation-hub-alexandria-louisiana.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eE8.8Vf0.biCsoGakSsvf&smid=url-share) to a New York Times article about an ICE detention and removal facility at an airport in Alexandria, Louisiana. The article describes one such detainee, Badar Khan Suri, “an Indian citizen who has a visa to do research at Georgetown University.” From the article, “Mr. Suri’s wife, a Palestinian American, had drawn the attention of pro-Israel activists for her sharp criticism of Israel on social media, and for her father’s former role as a government official in Gaza.” (Later, with the assistance of the ACLU, he was released.) My point is only that he was by no means an “illegal” as people imagine, but someone who did have legal status that was revoked. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/2 "2025-08-14T22:17:55Z")
I don’t know all the details, but for a lot of us the concern is that the definition of ‘non-citizen’ is going to be expanded to eventually include anyone who Trump dislikes. And I know people will say ‘thats illegal’, but him breaking the law has never stopped him before. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/3 "2025-08-14T22:25:48Z")
Yep. “First they came for the immigrants, but I was not one, so I did not speak up…” I will wager good money there are American citizens getting swept-up in all this and getting detained, manhandled, and worse - people who came to this country and became citizens the legal way. But, due to some distant connection to some group not in favor by the Government they are swept-up into this maelstrom. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/4 "2025-08-14T22:26:33Z")
Does that mean you don’t have any answers for my specific questions? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/5 "2025-08-14T22:32:12Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I will wager good money there are American citizens getting swept-up in all this and getting detained, manhandled, and worse I will not take that bet because we know this has already happened. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/6 "2025-08-14T22:39:00Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I will wager good money there are American citizens getting swept-up in all this and getting detained, manhandled, and worse - people who came to this country and became citizens the legal way. Okay, what percentage of those manhandled by the goons are US citizens or permanent residents? Again, my question is to distinguish the victims who are undocumented versus those who do have legal status. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/7 "2025-08-14T22:47:28Z")
There are lots of articles out there describing the detainment of US citizens or people otherwise here legally - the people running this operation are not releasing any numbers so it will be hard to determine facts, but the reported numbers are probably woefully low… > **[MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-look-at-the-u-s-citizens-who-have-been-deported-by-the-trump-administration-so-far/ar-AA1EfDov)** _The true scope of U.S. citizens wrongfully deported is not known as the federal government does not release data on how often members of this group are mistakenly detained or even removed from the country. However, [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/05/02/citizens-caught-trump-immigration-crackdown/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#4DLNVNUWMBHFHOTLK2JMXB55AI-5) estimated that there are at least 12 well-known cases, drawing conclusions from court records, interviews and news reports._ ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/8 "2025-08-14T22:54:20Z")
They’re not releasing numbers because they can’t justify the narrative that they are going after super dangerous MS13 gang members when they’re arresting and deporting children. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/9 "2025-08-14T22:56:44Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Okay, what percentage of those manhandled by the goons are US citizens or permanent residents? At this point it is very hard to know. In the last go around, “available ICE data indicate that ICE arrested 674, detained 121, and removed 70 potential U.S. citizens from fiscal year 2015 through the second quarter of fiscal year 2020 (March 2020).” > **[Immigration Enforcement: Actions Needed to Better Track Cases Involving U.S....](https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-487)** > > In recent years, some U.S. citizens have claimed they were mistakenly identified as foreign nationals and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs... ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/10 "2025-08-14T23:00:19Z")
I can almost guarantee there are people getting disappeared without a bit of a paper trace. You can’t ever get an answer to your question without a denominator. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/11 "2025-08-14T23:09:34Z")
Perhaps if you ask them personally, and are very persistent about it, you can find out first hand? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/12 "2025-08-14T23:42:42Z")
Some people, even those who aren’t Trump fans or MAGA loyalists, believe that those being removed by ICE “deserve” it (by being undocumented/”illegal aliens”), so I wanted some documentation to show that’s not necessarily the case. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/13 "2025-08-14T23:45:17Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Okay, what percentage of those manhandled by the goons are US citizens or permanent residents? Since all who have been abducted are being denied due process, there is no way to know the answer. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/14 "2025-08-14T23:48:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Okay, what percentage of those manhandled by the goons are US citizens or permanent residents? I just want to make clear that being a legal resident does not protect someone from ICE. ICE is also involved in the arrest, detention, and prosecution of legal residents that the US government wants to strip of their legal status and deport through immigration removal proceedings. If, for example, a legal resident has been convicted of any number of deportable crimes (or, lately, said something Trump doesn’t like), they can be picked up by ICE, detained, and subjected to removal proceedings. Throughout the process, right up until they are ordered removed, they remain a legal “permanent” (increasingly a misnomer) resident. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/15 "2025-08-14T23:49:35Z")
So what is the order in which this occurs? Are people arrested or detained prior to having their legal status revoked? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/16 "2025-08-14T23:51:32Z")
They certainly can be, and increasingly are. In theory, detention is mandatory for even legal residents who have been convicted of certain crimes and are placed in removal proceedings. ETA: I would just like to add that, to my mind, the real horror isn’t that so many people are being picked up by mistake, it’s that so many people who have lived the bulk of their lives in the US have essentially no legal protections and can be deported to places they have little or no memory of. _And that is 100% in keeping with the laws our representatives have passed over the decades_. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/17 "2025-08-14T23:56:34Z")
In the period prior to the 45/47 EO to deport millions of undocumented aliens, the vast majority were recent detainees at the southern border, who were, semantically, being turned back rather than deported. The number of crossings at the southern border has currently fallen substantially. So to fill their headline target/quota of deportations the ICE agents need to scour the cities/areas across the country to find established or integrated immigrants without documentation. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/18 "2025-08-14T23:57:30Z")
But that’s the thing; some percentage of those being seized _have_ documentation. Meaning they are here under some form of legal status (asylum seekers, student visa, research visa, employment visa, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/19 "2025-08-14T23:58:12Z")
Indeed. And yet being “documented” does not preclude deportation, especially if they have been convicted of certain crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067/20 "2025-08-14T23:59:32Z")
And again, many have not been convicted of _any_ crimes. Such as the unfortunate researcher I mentioned in the OP whose crime seemed to be that his wife had unpopular opinions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-what-ice-agents-goons-are-up-to/1022067.md?page=2)