برای خواندن این مطلب به فارسی اینجا را کلیک کنید
Washington, DC – NIAC has forced ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to disclose key data on the agency’s arrests and deportation of Iranian nationals. The first data set details the total number of Iranians arrested by ICE in FY2025, the total number of Iranians in detention as of December 2025, and information concerning the release and deportation of Iranian nationals. This critical data adds to the public’s understanding of the agency’s practices.
The legal process to obtain this information began with a Freedom of Information Act request filed in early October 2025, after reports made on September 30 revealed the deportation of dozens of Iranian nationals, including some at risk of reprisal from the Iranian government. When ICE failed to divulge the information requested as required by law, NIAC partnered with Red Eagle Law, L.C. to file a lawsuit to force the agency to comply with the Freedom of Information Act.
The data presented below represents the first disclosure under our Freedom of Information Act request and the lawsuit filed by Red Eagle Law, L.C. In order to support public awareness of actions taken by ICE, NIAC is sharing the full dataset below:
DOWNLOAD: ICE Data on Iranian Detainments and Deportations
The data released by ICE confirms the following:
- ICE conducted a major surge of arrests of Iranians amid the June 2025 war with 300 arrests across both June 2025 (220) and July 2025 (80).
- As of December 21, 2025, 577 Iranians were held in ICE detention at facilities across the country.
- The oldest reported Iranian national in detention was 77 years old, while the youngest is just 5 years old. The 5 year old appears to have been arrested in November along with likely family members, who were held at South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. This week, several Members of Congress have decried conditions at that facility and called for its closure and the release of many of the children held there.
- Of the 577 Iranians detained by ICE, seven were legal permanent residents (LPR), or green card holders whose stated detention reason was past criminal offenses. Most of those legal permanent residents listed as held in detention appear to be accused of criminal activity or wrongdoing. In recent weeks, additional Iranian legal permanent residents have had their green cards canceled by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has cited their perceived familial connections to Islamic Republic officials.
- As of December 2025, the facilities where the most Iranians have been detained includes Otay Mesa Detention Center in California, where 54 Iranians were held; Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, where 52 were held; and South Texas Ice Processing Center in Texas, where 47 Iranians were held.
- The data also shows continued legal successes in challenging arrests, with Iranians being released on bond, via orders of supervision, parole and by relief granted by immigration judges. This shows that many Iranians were arrested with little to no legal basis by the government and that legal challenges, when they have been possible, can succeed in securing relief.
- New data beyond FY25 confirmed that ICE arrested 13 Iranians in October, 24 in November and at least 34 in December 2025.
- The data includes information related to the deportation of Iranians to Iran, with the first deportation flight taking place on the final day of FY2025.
- This includes 45 Iranians listed as removed on the day of September 30, 2025, many of whom were listed as having been detained at Alexandria Staging Facility in Louisiana, where the deportation flight departed from. Others are listed as having been removed in the days leading up to the flight.
- Prior reporting from the New York Times indicated that a “30-year-old woman who is a Christian convert;” and “a 36-year-old man — the father of a newborn — who is an ethnic minority and political dissident in Iran” were on board the flight. Date of birth and gender information for those removed on that day appears to corroborate that individuals matching those descriptions were on the flight.
- Those removed on the first deportation flight range from as old as 67 to as young as 21.
- Some of those deported had been detained by ICE for nearly three years, others for just a few months.
- Prior reporting from Prism had indicated a major surge in arrests of Iranians around the June war. This new data indicates a slight bump on prior information, from roughly 290 to 300 arrests across June and July 2025.
- Subsequent months saw that ICE arrests of Iranians continued, but at a lower level than the mid and post-war surge. In contrast to the June high of 220 and July mark of 80, August saw 24 arrests of Iranians; September saw 23; while data shows 13 arrests in October, 24 in November and at least 34 in December 2025.
- Data has not been disclosed for 2026, but NIAC will continue to work for its release.
NIAC maintains a manually updated community tracker of publicly reported cases of ICE arrests of Iranian nationals at www.niacouncil.org/icetracker.