DES MOINES, IA — Immigration arrests in Iowa have climbed to a record pace this year, with state-level data showing a growing share of people being held even when they do not have criminal convictions. The trend is illustrated by the case of Noel Lopez, a longtime Iowa resident who was ordered deported after nearly six months in custody.
Lopez, who was arrested in Washington County on a marijuana charge that was later dropped, remained in custody because of an ICE detainer and later received a final deportation order on Nov. 19. His family says the case has upended daily life for his mother, siblings and young niece.
Arrests climbed this year
Data compiled by the Deportation Data Project shows at least 693 ICE arrests in Iowa through the end of July, compared with 298 in all of 2024 and 123 in 2023. The group, made up of academics and lawyers, uses public immigration-enforcement records gathered through FOIA requests.
The dataset suggests many of those arrested were not convicted criminals. It shows 61 arrests of people with no criminal charges in the first seven months of 2025, up from 29 in all of 2024, and 226 arrests of people with unresolved charges, more than four times the 47 reported last year.
Minor cases show up
Immigration lawyers in Iowa say many of the cases they are seeing this year involve relatively minor offenses or no criminal case at all. Des Moines attorney Raziel Argueta said he has represented people held after traffic stops, low-level theft allegations and other matters that would not usually lead to jail for a citizen.
The deportation data for Iowa lists 573 removals in the state, with none classified as aggravated felonies. Among those, 431 had other criminal convictions and 118 had pending charges, with examples ranging from driving under the influence to larceny, sexual assault and homicide.
Policy changes shape cases
Lawyers say recent federal policy shifts have changed how immigration cases move through the system. The Trump administration expanded expedited removal earlier this year and later adopted a policy saying anyone alleged to have entered the country illegally is subject to mandatory detention.
Those changes have led to more bond fights, more transfers to distant detention centers and, in some cases, detention without a criminal conviction. Another Iowa case involved Alfredo Lastra, an Ecuadorian asylum seeker who was detained in Des Moines after a traffic stop, later released on bond and now has a court date set for Dec. 13.
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