ICE using green card interviews to arrest applicants
Axios reports that under the Trump administration, ICE and USCIS are coordinating to identify and arrest some undocumented immigrants at U.S. green card interviews, with recent cases in San Diego and Cleveland where marriage‑based applicants were taken into custody even as their petitions were approved. Internal guidance at some USCIS field offices reportedly instructs officers to alert ICE as interviews conclude so agents can detain targeted applicants, a shift that union officials and immigration lawyers say undermines trust in federal buildings as "safe" spaces and is likely to drive more undocumented people away from pursuing legal status.
📌 Key Facts
- In San Diego, ICE arrested a man who overstayed a tourist visa after entering at age 12 when he appeared for a marriage‑based green card interview; USCIS approved his petition the same day and the interviewing officer told his lawyer the case was "perfectly fine."
- In Cleveland, ICE arrested a woman with a longstanding removal order at her marriage‑based interview in late November after 25 years in the U.S.; USCIS approved her petition but she remains in ICE custody.
- A source says some USCIS offices have written guidance to notify ICE when a “person of interest” appears and to alert agents as interviews near completion, with ICE and a USCIS investigative unit pre‑screening cases; a USCIS spokesman defended the practice by saying visa overstays are violations that can result in deportation.
📊 Relevant Data
Immigrants commit fewer crimes than US-born citizens, based on nearly two centuries of data showing lower incarceration rates for immigrants.
The immigration–crime link — American Economic Association
In high-profile ICE operations, more than half of those arrested had no criminal record, according to an analysis of data from January to October 2025.
ICE Arrest Data Shows Many Immigrants With No Criminal Record — The New York Times
About a third of people arrested by ICE had no criminal record, based on data from January 20 to October 15, 2025.
About a third of people arrested by ICE had no criminal record, new data shows — NPR
Heightened immigration enforcement reduces employment, causing job losses for both foreign- and U.S.-born workers, particularly in construction and child care sectors.
Trump's deportation agenda will destroy millions of jobs — Economic Policy Institute
On average, between 1% and 2% of nonimmigrant admissions result in an overstay each year, representing approximately 650,000-850,000 overstays.
Nonimmigrant Overstays: Overview and Policy Issues — Congress.gov
The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States grew from an estimated 10.5 million in 2021 to 14 million in 2023, including those who overstayed visas.
How Pew Research Center estimates the US unauthorized immigrant population — Pew Research Center
As of September 2025, 71 percent of ICE detainees had no criminal conviction.
U.S. Immigrant Detention Grows to Record — Migration Policy Institute