Can ICE Do That? – The New York Times

Newsletter The Morning

Can ICE Do That?

Times reporters answer readers’ questions about immigration and deportation.

By Adam B. Kushner

I am the editor of this newsletter; Jan. 18, 2026, 8:04 a.m. ET

You’re reading The Morning newsletter.  Your daily guide to understanding what’s happening — and why it matters. Hosted by Sam Sifton, for readers in the U.S. and Canada.

Whom can Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest, and when? How many people are agents deporting? How do ICE agents feel? We asked readers for their questions about immigration and deportation. Today, The Times’s expert beat reporters answer.

Civil rights

How are the rules for ICE and Border Patrol officers different from those for local police? | Mike Bowman | Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

Shaila Dewan, who covers policing, writes:

Federal officers enforce federal laws, and local police officers enforce state and local laws. Federal officers may perform local law enforcement functions like traffic and crowd control only if state laws grant them that power (in Minnesota, for instance, they may do so only by request, and the state is not asking). But federal officers may take action against people who interfere with their operations or assault an officer. While the Border Patrol is chiefly responsible for borders and ports of entry, ICE officers enforce civil immigration laws within the country.

They don’t need warrants to apprehend people for violating those laws if they have probable cause to believe that the person is both deportable and a flight risk. They cannot enter a private space like a home without warrants but can and do go in with local officers who have them. They do not have to advise immigration detainees of their rights. Local police, on the other hand, may arrest someone on the spot if a crime has just occurred, but otherwise they need a warrant, granted by a court, to put someone in custody.

Does the law allow agents to detain observers who are filming them without impeding their operations? | David McKenna | Little Canada, Minnesota

Shaila continues:

The short answer is no. Though the specifics of state laws vary, filming public law enforcement activities is broadly recognized as a First Amendment right, as long as observers do not interfere. That said, it may be a right without a remedy. The Supreme Court has not squarely addressed the issue, and officers who detain someone in violation of a right that has not been “clearly established” may be immune from being sued. Meanwhile, a federal judge told agents on Friday not to retaliate against “peaceful and unobstructive” protesters and not to stop drivers who are not “forcibly obstructing” officers.

Deportation

How many people have been deported under Trump, and how does this number compare with past administrations? | Michael Frick | Palm Springs, California

Albert Sun, a graphics editor who has tracked deportations, writes:

I published an article today about this. Our best analysis is that since Jan. 20, the Trump administration has deported about 540,000 people. This is fewer than in either of the last two years of the Biden administration. But Biden-era deportations mostly came at the border, where migration has nearly stopped. Trump’s arrests target people already inside the country. The administration has removed about 230,000 of them, already more than the Biden administration did in four years.

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