07/24/2025
Your thoughts?
Public Opinion Sought: Comparing Biden and Trump’s Handling of ICE Detainers for Illegal Immigrants
By William Tauro
Recent data from the Department of Homeland Security has sparked debate over how effectively the U.S. has managed immigration enforcement, particularly through ICE detainers—requests issued to local law enforcement to hold individuals suspected of being in the country illegally for potential deportation.
According to DHS figures released this week, New York City saw 9,472 ICE detainers issued over the entire four-year term of President Joe Biden’s administration.  In contrast, under President Donald Trump’s second term, which began in January 2025, ICE has already issued 6,025 detainers in the same city in just six months.  This represents a roughly 400% increase in the monthly rate of detainers compared to Biden’s average.
Critics of Biden’s approach argue that his administration’s lower detainer numbers in sanctuary cities like New York reflected a more lenient stance on immigration, potentially allowing more illegal immigrants to remain in communities without facing immediate enforcement. Supporters, however, point to broader nationwide trends under Biden, where total ICE detainers climbed steadily but focused on prioritizing serious criminal offenders, issuing nearly 300,000 detainers across the U.S. from FY 2021 to early FY 2024.  They contend this was a balanced strategy amid record border encounters and resource constraints.
Trump’s rapid escalation in detainers—achieving over 60% of Biden’s four-year total in NYC within half a year—has been hailed by proponents as a decisive crackdown fulfilling campaign promises to prioritize public safety and border security. Yet detractors highlight that nationwide enforcement under Trump so far shows mixed results, with arrests surging but deportations lagging behind Biden-era rates in some metrics, partly due to detention capacity limits and legal backlogs.  They worry this aggressive pace could strain resources and lead to broader civil rights concerns without proportional increases in removals.
What do you think? Was Biden’s handling of ICE detainers too lax over four years, contributing to immigration challenges? Or has Trump’s approach in just six months been more effective in addressing illegal immigration, despite the shorter timeframe?
Share your views on whether these numbers reflect better policy or political posturing, and how they impact communities.
(Photo: Fox News as posted on Donald Trump for president page)
