U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law‑enforcement agency inside the Department of Homeland Security that enforces immigration and certain customs laws away from the border (“interior enforcement”). Its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arm identifies people who are deportable (“removable”), arrests them, detains them when allowed or required, and carries out removal (deportation) orders.
ICE’s authority comes mainly from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), codified in Title 8 of the U.S. Code. Under 8 U.S.C. §1357, authorized immigration officers can, among other things, question people about their right to be in the U.S., arrest certain noncitizens without a warrant when there is reason to believe they are removable and likely to escape, and execute warrants and other federal orders. ICE then uses the INA’s removal provisions (for example, 8 U.S.C. §§1227, 1229a) to place people into immigration court or expedited removal and, if a final removal order is issued, to physically deport them.
In most cases, an immigration judge at the Department of Justice orders removal; ICE carries out that order. In some situations (such as certain recent border crossers), DHS can order “expedited removal” without seeing a judge.
Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) was the U.S. government’s emergency effort, led by the Department of Homeland Security, to bring and resettle Afghans after the fall of Kabul in August 2021. It focused on Afghans who worked with or for the U.S. government or military, and others at risk from the Taliban.
Under OAW, Afghans were evacuated to U.S. or overseas bases, vetted by U.S. agencies for security and other risks, and then paroled into the United States temporarily while they applied for longer‑term status (such as asylum or Special Immigrant Visas). The DHS press release you’re reading notes that Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan accused of supporting ISIS‑K, “entered the United States under Joe Biden’s ‘Operation Allies Welcome,’” meaning he came through this evacuation/parole program.
An ICE “detainer” is a written request from ICE to a state or local jail or prison asking two things:
Detainers are issued on DHS Form I‑247A. They are not criminal arrest warrants; they are civil immigration requests, and many courts have held that local agencies are not required by federal law to honor them. When a detainer is honored, it allows ICE to assume custody directly from the jail and then start or continue immigration removal proceedings (for example by serving a Notice to Appear in immigration court, or by executing an existing removal order).
Under U.S. law, a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO) is a foreign (non‑U.S.) organization formally designated as terrorist by the U.S. Secretary of State under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. §1189).
By statute, an organization can be designated an FTO only if the Secretary of State finds that:
Once designated, the group appears on the State Department’s FTO list, and various criminal and immigration penalties apply to its members and supporters.
After DHS (usually ICE or sometimes other DHS components) arrests someone, two separate legal tracks often unfold: the criminal case (if any) and the immigration case. The basic sequence is:
Initial arrest and any criminal prosecution
• If the person is suspected of a crime, federal, state, or local prosecutors decide whether to file criminal charges (e.g., assault, trafficking, immigration crimes like illegal re‑entry).
• The criminal case proceeds first: arraignment, possible plea deal or trial, and if convicted, sentencing and serving the sentence.
Starting immigration (removal) proceedings
• DHS begins removal proceedings by serving a Notice to Appear (NTA) and filing it with the immigration court (part of the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, not DHS). The NTA lists the factual allegations and the legal reason DHS believes the person is removable.
Detention or release during the immigration case
• ICE decides whether to detain the person or release them (for example, on bond or other supervision). Some people with certain criminal histories are subject to “mandatory detention” under the INA and cannot be released by ICE.
• In many other cases, an immigration judge can review ICE’s custody decision and set or lower bond.
Immigration court hearings and possible relief
• The person has one or more hearings where an immigration judge decides whether they are removable and, if so, whether they qualify for any relief (asylum, cancellation of removal, etc.).
• Because of a very large backlog, immigration cases often take months to several years before a final decision; as of late 2024 there were millions of pending cases in immigration court.
Final order and removal (deportation)
• If the judge issues a removal order and no appeal or court stay prevents it, ICE arranges the actual deportation (by flight or ground transport) under its Title 8 authority.
• People can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals and then to federal courts, which can further lengthen the timeline.
Exceptions / faster timelines
• Some individuals with prior final removal orders or subject to “expedited removal” can be deported relatively quickly once DHS confirms identity and travel documents.
• Others with complex claims or criminal histories may remain detained or under supervision for years while criminal and immigration proceedings, appeals, or diplomatic issues (e.g., their home country delaying travel documents) are resolved.
The December 23, 2025 DHS press release states that “70% of all ICE arrests are of illegal aliens convicted or charged with a crime in the U.S.” but does not explain how that figure was calculated.
Public ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) statistics show arrests broken down into three main categories: people with U.S. criminal convictions, people with pending U.S. criminal charges, and people with no known U.S. convictions or charges (but who may still be immigration violators or wanted for crimes abroad). The 70% figure is almost certainly derived by combining the first two categories—convictions plus pending charges—as a share of all ERO arrests in recent data.
However, DHS has not, as of now, published a methodology document that explicitly confirms the exact calculation behind this “70%” claim, so it cannot be independently verified in detail using publicly available information alone.
Tricia McLaughlin is the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In that role, she:
• Oversees DHS’s public outreach, including media relations, digital communications, and crisis and strategic communications; and
• Serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security (currently Kristi Noem in the press‑release context) on all external and internal communications.
Her authority is over messaging and communications, not over law‑enforcement operations themselves. In the press release, she is speaking in that communications role, praising DHS law‑enforcement components like ICE and framing the administration’s policy stance, but she does not personally direct arrests or deportations.
MS‑13 and the 18th Street Gang are large, violent street gangs that operate across multiple countries and U.S. states. U.S. law enforcement generally treats them as “transnational criminal organizations,” and their members are frequent targets of criminal prosecutions and immigration enforcement.
• MS‑13 (Mara Salvatrucha): Originating in Central American communities in Los Angeles, MS‑13 has grown into a major gang with thousands of members in the U.S. and Central America. The U.S. Treasury Department has formally designated MS‑13 as a “significant transnational criminal organization” under Executive Order 13581, allowing U.S. authorities to impose financial sanctions. U.S. agencies (FBI, ICE, DOJ) prioritize MS‑13 members for investigation, prosecution, and removal.
• 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18, Mara 18): Also originating in Los Angeles, the 18th Street gang has tens of thousands of members across the U.S., Mexico, and Central America. The U.S. Department of Justice and Secret Service describe it as a “violent transnational criminal organization,” and it has been the focus of major federal racketeering and violent‑crime prosecutions.
In immigration cases, confirmed membership in MS‑13 or 18th Street can be used as evidence that someone is a public‑safety threat, supporting detention, denial of certain immigration benefits, and priority for deportation. In the DHS press release, individuals linked to MS‑13 and the 18th Street Gang are highlighted as examples of “worst of the worst” criminal noncitizens.