In the first year of President Donald Trump's return to office, at least 1,779 people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Iowa, primarily through collaboration between the agency and local law enforcement, according to the Deportation Data Project.
ICE arrests in Iowa increased by 272% compared with the same period in 2024, according to the project's data, fitting into national trends of sharp increases in immigration-related arrests.
While the increase in ICE activity under Trump's second administration started with large-scale raids and operations like those in Minneapolis and Chicago, the agency has shifted toward a "quieter" approach through collaboration with state and local law enforcement.
The collaborative approach has been the more common immigration enforcement tactic in Iowa historically. Although these tactics are less visible compared to raids, advocates say the impact is still felt throughout the state, regardless of immigration status.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety has had a collaboration agreement with ICE since March 2025. State officers can be trained to carry out immigration enforcement activities during regular police duties as well as in ICE-led task forces.
This collaboration has led to immigrants being detained during traffic stops and at interstate weigh stations by state police.
Because these officers could be anywhere across the state, many immigrants in Iowa, regardless of legal status, are scared to leave their homes or call police to report crimes, said Elena Casillas-Hoffman, Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice's communications specialist.
While there have been large ICE raids in Iowa in the past, people typically perceive the state as quieter when it comes to immigration enforcement, Casillas-Hoffman said, which is ultimately not true. Because of the less public nature of enforcement, many immigrants feel their stories go unheard, she said.
"We talked to community members, many of whom feel like what happened to them happened in secrecy," Casillas-Hoffman said. "So it's this feeling of like, 'What happened? My family was just ripped apart, and I can't figure out where they went. I don't know who picked them up at first. I don't know where they went or where they're going. I'm just desperate to find resources.'"
Even those who are legally in the United States are scared they will be arrested by ICE or local law enforcement because they appear to be immigrants, Casillas-Hoffman said.
In an email statement to the Register, Colleen Powell, bureau chief of strategic communications for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said the department has always assisted and cooperated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE to the extent permitted by law.
This collaboration is no different than when the department works with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Powell said.
Despite fewer public ICE raids, some immigration advocates say immigration enforcement has been aggressive and destructive to communities in the state and across the nation.
During two separate traffic stops in early July, ICE agents shot and killed a man in Maine and another man in Texas.
"There is nothing quiet about what we're seeing," Rogelio Lagunas, a member of immigration advocacy organization Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, said. "Immigrants are under attack, and that's why we are standing up and fighting back."
Lagunas' advice to other immigrants is to respectfully comply with all orders from the police if they are pulled over, even if they feel they are not being treated lawfully. It's important to stay calm but also to know your rights, like the right to remain silent when being questioned by law enforcement, he added.
"What I want to say to my folks is: all individuals in the United States have rights regardless of immigration status," Lagunas said.
Isabelle Foland is a communities reporter for the Register. Reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: ICE detainments jump 272% in Iowa as enforcement with police ramps up