200 thousand arrested: what is ICE and why is it accused of state terror

There are currently up to 800 Russians in US immigration prisons

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE arrested more than 200 thousand people in 2025. The federal agency conducts massive raids against migrants; their work is accompanied by numerous scandals and mass protests. Among those detained are asylum seekers from Russia. “Layout” tells how ICE came into being and why there are so many scandals around it.

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Why ICE remained the least prestigious of the law enforcement agencies before Trump returned to the White House

ICE is a relatively new police force, created in 2003 within the Department of Homeland Security. The ministry itself appeared shortly before this, as a response from the American authorities to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Then four groups of terrorists hijacked passenger planes and flew them into the buildings of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and the White House or the Capitol. About three thousand people died, more than 6,000 were injured.

The terrorist attack caused a sharp tightening of government control over citizens within the United States. The Patriot Act allowed intelligence agencies virtually unlimited surveillance of suspects without court approval, allowed the FBI to obtain documents without a warrant, allowed the government to appoint its own prosecutors, and dramatically increased control over migrants.

Another law, the Homeland Security Act, established the creation of a super-ministry that united 22 government agencies to coordinate border protection, anti-terrorist actions and work in emergency situations.

Both acts were actively criticized by human rights groups. Critics of the “Security Act” spoke about the danger of creating a government agency that receives almost unlimited powers in the field of surveillance of citizens, foreigners in the United States and their arrests. ICE has also been the target of criticism, including for turning the issue of migration into a matter of government protection.

ICE was considered significantly less prestigious than the FBI and DEA. This led to a decline in the quality of recruitment - even worse after the sharp increase in staffing in 2025.

How many people serve in ICE and what powers do they have?

The number of ICE officers has more than doubled in 2025. The service hired 12 thousand people to the 10 thousand who had worked before. The surge in funding and $8 billion in hiring were included in the Big Beautiful Act, which delivered on key campaign promises from President-elect Donald Trump.

The powers of the intelligence service cover the fight against more than 400 types of federal crimes. Including:

• With the organization of illegal migration;
• Human trafficking;
• Transnational criminal groups;
• Money laundering.

Agents can screen migrants for legality in the United States, arrest those suspected of violating immigration laws, inspect vehicles and premises “within a reasonable distance from the border,” and use lethal force.

ICE operates more than 50 detention centers, including those located on military bases, and about 40 private prisons. At the same time, they cannot arrest US citizens unless they catch them committing crimes. This restriction did not stop Immigration Police agents from killing two American citizens in one January 2026.

Why is ICE's work in the US compared to Stalin's terror?

In January, ICE agents shot and killed two Americans: 37-year-old activist Renee Goode and 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretty. Both incidents occurred during protests against Immigration Police operations against migrants in Minnesota i .

Goode was shot and killed in her car, which was stopped by ICE during a raid. Pretty - on the street, filming the actions of federal agents. In the first case, ICE says the agent defended his life out of fear that Good was trying to run him over.

In the second, Pretty's gun was seized and ICE said he was aggressively pointing the weapon "in the direction of the agents." Opponents of the agency believe that both victims did not pose any danger to others, and the agents used excessive force.

Both cases are being investigated internally by ICE, which is looking into the circumstances surrounding the use of the weapon. This is criticized by the authorities of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the city is located, and members of Congress, including Republicans. The experience of other similar cases shows that federal agencies shield their employees to the end in any controversial situations and they avoid punishment.

In Minnesota, about 2,000 ICE officers and US Border Patrol officers are involved in raids against migrants. Experts call this scale an expression of the political conflict between federal authorities and state authorities. In addition to the two murders, federal agents were involved in several other major scandals.

One of the most influential American newspapers, The New York Times, published a column about the events in Minnesota with the headline “State terror has already arrived.” The columnist compared (the author of the article M. Gessen is a non-binary person) what was happening with the Soviet state terror of the 1930s and the terror in Nazi Germany. The seemingly random use of force against citizens, the column notes, can often turn out to be intentional—committed to intimidate citizens and society.

How many Russians have ICE detained?

The issue of illegal immigration occupies a significant place on the American political agenda. The aforementioned “sanctuary jurisdictions” include more than 600 cities and counties in 15 states that have sanctuary policies that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities in detaining or deporting illegal immigrants.

Migrants are protected in many rights, often have the opportunity to obtain official documents and fill out tax returns. But combating illegal immigration was one of Donald Trump's main campaign promises—and in 2025, ICE officers arrested more than 217,000 people, including in sanctuary cities and states.

The Trump administration has dramatically accelerated the process of deporting migrants and said mass deportations are “improving the quality of life for Americans.” In many cases, asylum seekers are subject to deportation, whose cases are processed in a fast-track manner and without the possibility of appealing the refusal.

Among those expelled are Russian citizens. ICE sent them to their country of citizenship on at least five charter flights. This happens despite the lack of air traffic between Moscow and Washington due to the war in Ukraine - through stops in other countries. According to “Vestka” calculations, the American authorities could have deported more than 200 people this way. At least two managed to escape .

Russian America for Democracy in Russia estimates that as of the end of January, about 700–800 Russians remain in immigration prisons. But as raids continue, their number may increase. The US authorities do not yet plan to stop arrests and deportations. Even though American attitudes toward Trump's immigration policies and ICE raids are at their lowest levels in polling history, about 50 percent of citizens continue to support deportations.

Photo: An ICE officer prepares to disperse protesters with a paintball gun. Portland, Oregon October 28, 2020 John Rudoff/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

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