USC Study: ICE Arrests of Asian American and Pacific Islander Californians Surged 1,109 Percent in 2025, Rising From 4 Percent to 11 Percent of State Arrests
CALIFORNIA, November 2 — Arrests of Asian American and Pacific Islander Californians by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement surged by 1,109 percent in 2025, according to a fact sheet released in June 2026 by the University of Southern California Equity Research Institute, far above the 386 percent rise in overall arrests in the state.
According to the fact sheet, 2025 was the first year of President Donald Trump's second term and ICE arrests increased dramatically in California. Arrests of individuals with citizenship from Asian or Pacific Island countries and territories increased by 1,109 percent, raising the share of AAPI arrests from 4 percent in 2024 to 11 percent in 2025. The analysis also showed shifts in who was arrested, including increases in arrests of women, children under the age of 18, and individuals with no criminal record, challenging claims that expanded enforcement efforts are focused primarily on people with criminal histories.
The analysis is based on individual arrest records reported by ICE through the Deportation Data Project between January 2024 and March 2026. Of the 713,464 total records in the dataset, 49,992 were identified as apprehensions occurring in California, while 107,376 records were missing apprehension-state information. Among AAPI arrests classified by citizenship country, the largest countries of origin were India, China, Vietnam, Armenia and Laos.
(Source: USC Equity Research Institute)
Source: USC Equity Research Institute
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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