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One out of every seven Houston area residents know of someone detained by ICE, survey finds

Houston Public Media News 88.7 | By Michael Adkison

Published March 3, 2026 at 10:34 AM EST

A sign that reads "Billionaires are the real enemy, not immigrants!" at a Jan. 8, 2026 protest against ICE in Houston.

One out of every seven Houston-area residents say they know someone who was detained and potentially deported by immigration authorities in 2025, according to a new survey released Monday by Rice University.

More Hispanic greater Houston residents said they know someone who has been detained or deported by ICE than other residents.

That rate jumps even higher among Hispanic residents; 25% of Hispanic Houstonians say they know someone detained by federal authorities. By contrast, 9% of Black residents and 8% of white residents said they know of similar detentions or deportations.

"With such a rapidly changing landscape, it is sometimes difficult for research to keep up, but what our research makes clear is that Houston-area residents are unimpressed by federal efforts and want to see the issue of illegal immigration addressed by incorporating people, not kicking them out," said Dan Potter, director of the Kinder Institute's Houston Population Research Center and one of survey's researchers.

The survey by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University was conducted in October and November 2025, as part of the Greater Houston Community Panel, which follows more than 10,000 adults living in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties.

Respondents were asked whether they personally knew someone, such as a friend, family member, neighbor, or co-worker, who had been detained and possibly deported in the previous six months leading up to the survey.

Fifteen percent of greater Houston residents say they know someone personally who has been detained or deported by immigration authorities, according to a new survey by Rice University.

In total, three out of four greater Houston residents said they did not know of someone being detained or deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

A map of where greater Houston residents say they know of someone who has been detained or deported by immigration authorities.

But in certain neighborhoods of each of those counties, more than one in five residents said they knew of someone who was. That includes 31% of residents in Aldine; 28% in Alief/Sharpstown/Gulfton; and 25% in Greater Inwood/Acres Homes, among others.

The report found similar trends among greater Houston residents when factoring in socioeconomic or immigration status. Twenthy one precent of residents born outside of the United States said they know of someone who had been detained or deported, as opposed to 13% of those born in the U.S.

More greater Houston residents near or below the poverty knew someone who had been detained or deported by ICE.

Of the greater Houston residents who earn less than $35,000 annually, 24% said they knew of someone detained by ICE. By contrast, only 10% of those earning six figures or more said they knew of someone detained by ICE.