ICE arrests across South Central Texas more than doubled in 2025, jumping to over 11,600 cases from roughly 4,750 a year earlier, a spike that has rattled immigrant communities and local officials from San Antonio to Austin. The sharp rise has been traced largely to the San Antonio field office’s jurisdiction, where aggressive detainer requests from federal immigration agents have become the new normal.
An analysis by the Austin American-Statesman of federal enforcement records through Oct. 15, 2025, found the surge was centered in the San Antonio field office. ICE arrests in that region topped 11,600 in 2025, more than twice the roughly 4,750 arrests logged in 2024. Weekly averages tell the story in starker terms: about 303 arrests per week in 2025, compared with roughly 124 per week the year before.
Detainers Are Driving The Uptick
Processed federal records compiled by the Deportation Data Project show that Texas jails received more than 31,000 ICE detainer requests in the first nine months of the Trump administration, an increase of about 33% over the prior year. The same processed data indicate that detainer requests for people with no pending criminal charges or convictions rose sharply, broadening the pool of people federal agents move to pick up, according to the Deportation Data Project.
Which Jails And Charges Are Most Affected
The Austin American-Statesman review found that Harris County Jail led the state in detainer requests during the first nine months of the administration, with Travis County and Bexar County also landing near the top of the list. The Statesman further reported that driving-under-the-influence cases were the single most common charge at Travis County and statewide among arrests that led to detainer requests. In other words, a lot of the action is happening on the back end of traffic stops.
Who ICE Is Arresting
The processed records show a notable shift in who is being swept up. The share of arrestees with criminal convictions fell to about 39% in 2025 from roughly 51% in 2024, while roughly 38% of those taken into custody in the San Antonio field office had neither convictions nor pending charges. Men accounted for about 86% of arrests, and nationality data in the records indicate Mexicans made up about 38% of arrestees and Hondurans roughly 19%, according to the Deportation Data Project.
What Texas Law Requires
State law plays a big part in how all of this plays out on the ground. Texas statutes require law-enforcement agencies to “comply with, honor and fulfill” ICE detainer requests unless a detainee can provide proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful status. That language flows from SB4 and related provisions and has surfaced in litigation such as City of El Cenizo v. Texas. Those mandates, now codified in state law, leave county sheriffs and jail administrators with limited options to refuse detainers, as outlined in the Texas Government Code.
Local Reaction And Next Steps
Advocates and legal aid organizations say the enforcement shift is already chilling cooperation with police and discouraging people from showing up for routine check-ins. City officials in Austin and other Central Texas communities have scheduled public conversations, and advocates told Axios the pattern feels less like a few splashy raids and more like a steadily widening net…