(UNITED STATES) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem disclosed that ICE arrested 261 DACA recipients and deported 86 of them from January 1 to November 19, 2025, in a letter to three Democratic U.S. senators.
Noem provided the figures in correspondence to Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sen. Alex Padilla of California, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, drawing new scrutiny to how immigration authorities handled cases involving people protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The disclosure drew attention because DACA recipients receive temporary protection from deportation and work authorization, and lawmakers pressed for clearer explanations of how arrests, detention decisions, and removals unfolded in practice.
Noem wrote that DACA offers only a temporary deferral of removal and does not confer permanent status or an entitlement to remain in the United States.
Among the 261 DACA recipients ICE arrested during the period, 241 had criminal histories, Noem told the senators.
DHS cited privacy concerns and withheld further details about the individuals and their cases.
Durbin, Padilla and Kelly condemned the arrests and deportations in a statement, saying: “News of DACA recipients being arrested and deported is deeply troubling.”
The senators demanded more information on the arrests and deportations of Dreamers, many of whom arrived in the United States illegally as children, passed background checks, met education or work requirements, and have lived in the country most of their lives.
The reporting period spanned the last 19 days of President Biden’s term and the early Trump administration, though few arrests occurred under Biden.
DHS framed the enforcement activity as consistent with the program’s design and limits, emphasizing that deferred action rests on prosecutorial discretion and can be terminated.
The department noted that DACA can be revoked for violations or criminal histories, a point that separates the question of eligibility from what ICE does after an arrest.
Arrest, termination of deferred action and removal are distinct steps, and the figures Noem disclosed bundled those outcomes together over more than 10 months of 2025.
DACA does not create lawful permanent residence and does not provide a pathway to citizenship on its own, but it has functioned for years as a renewable protection that helps recipients work legally and avoid deportation.
As of June 2025, approximately 516,000 DACA recipients were active, mainly in California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, and New York.
That national baseline helps illustrate how a relatively small number of enforcement cases can still reverberate broadly among recipients and their families, particularly when the government provides limited public detail about the circumstances.
DACA began as a federal policy enacted June 15, 2012, under President Obama, and it grants renewable two-year deportation deferrals along with work authorization.
The program has faced legal challenges for years, leaving its scope and durability tied to court decisions as well as to shifting enforcement approaches.
On January 17, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas v. United States ruled that DACA’s deportation protection is lawful nationwide.
The same ruling said DACA’s work authorization is potentially unlawful, but the practical effect was limited to Texas due to standing issues.
Renewals continued pending further rulings, and no Supreme Court appeal occurred by May 20, 2025.
The enforcement numbers Noem disclosed arrived against that legal backdrop, with DACA recipients tracking not only individual case outcomes but also whether work authorization and renewal processes would remain stable while litigation continued.
DHS described the deportations as a small fraction of enrollees amid broader enforcement.
The senators’ letter exchange with the department also highlighted oversight questions that often arise when DHS releases aggregate figures without case-by-case explanations, leaving lawmakers to probe decision-making criteria and transparency.
Noem’s correspondence placed weight on the idea that DACA protections are temporary and discretionary, a framing that can influence how enforcement actions are understood by employers, families and communities.
For DACA recipients who have complied with program requirements and avoided disqualifying conduct, the disclosure still injected uncertainty because it tied arrests and removals to a population widely associated with background checks and long-term residence.
The department’s reliance on privacy concerns to limit detail also meant the public record remained thin on what triggered each arrest, what happened to deferred action status in individual cases, and how quickly removals occurred after custody decisions.
Even without additional personal information, the figures added a new data point to the broader debate over how ICE priorities intersect with discretionary protections like deferred action, and how much information Congress receives when it presses for answers.
With DACA still subject to litigation and defined as a temporary reprieve rather than a durable status, the disclosure underscored that recipients can face consequences if the government determines they no longer qualify or decides to pursue enforcement action.
For families and workplaces that rely on DACA renewals and work permits, the combination of ongoing court disputes and confirmed enforcement actions can shape planning decisions in ways that extend beyond the individuals directly arrested or removed.
DHS’ account to lawmakers left the senators demanding fuller explanations of how Dreamers were selected for enforcement action and how the department applied its standards, even as the agency stressed that DACA does not guarantee the right to remain in the country.
ICE Deports 86 DACA Recipients in 2025 as Kristi Noem Pushes Enforcement
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem disclosed that ICE arrested 261 DACA recipients and deported 86 in 2025. Most arrested individuals reportedly had criminal histories. Democratic senators have condemned the actions, demanding more transparency regarding the enforcement process for Dreamers. The disclosure highlights the ongoing legal and political tension surrounding the DACA program, which remains a temporary and discretionary protection subject to shifting federal enforcement priorities and court rulings.
