Fact checkPoliticsPublished October 10, 2026
Markwayne Mullin: “ICE has requested that New York local officials detain over 14,000 individuals for federal immigration processing.”. Our verdict: Unverified.

The claim

“ICE has requested that New York local officials detain over 14,000 individuals for federal immigration processing.”

Markwayne MullinNews reportOctober 10, 2026Read the original

Markwayne Mullin made the claim during a PBS NewsHour interview about an ICE shooting in New York, published on 10 October 2026.

Our verdict

Unverified

We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute the claim that ICE asked New York local officials to detain more than 14,000 people for federal immigration processing. The only source we found for the figure is Markwayne Mullin himself, and no public record backs up that ICE made such a request.

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What we found

Markwayne Mullin did say that ICE had asked New York local officials to detain over 14,000 people, and a PBS NewsHour report captures that remark. But saying something was requested is not the same as showing it was. We looked for public records, official statements and news reports that would confirm ICE actually made a request of that size to New York officials, and we found none. The closest official figure we could find points the other way: a Department of Homeland Security press release from 23 July 2025 said ICE had issued 6,025 detainers in New York City since 20 January 2025, well below 14,000. A federal regulation explains what a detainer is — a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement to hold someone for federal custody — but it does not confirm any specific request to New York. Because the public record neither confirms nor refutes the claim, our verdict is unverifiable.

The numbers

ICE detainers in New York City

The number of ICE detainers reported by the Department of Homeland Security is lower than the figure cited in the claim.

Figures in people

05,00010,00015,000ClaimedClaimedClaimed: 14,00014,000DHS reportedDHS reportedDHS reported: 6,0256,025
Source: Department of Homeland Security

The evidence

3 sources, all background: none settles the claim either way.

Contradict 0Support 0Background 3
  • Background

    A PBS NewsHour report records Markwayne Mullin saying that ICE had requested that New York local officials detain over 14,000 individuals. This shows the statement was made, but it does not by itself prove the request happened. [1]

  • Background

    A Department of Homeland Security press release dated 23 July 2025 says ICE issued 6,025 detainers in New York City since 20 January 2025. That figure is far lower than the 14,000-plus described in the claim. [2]

  • Background

    A federal regulation sets out what an ICE detainer is: a request to state or local law enforcement to hold someone for federal custody. It explains the mechanism but says nothing about any request to New York officials for more than 14,000 detentions. [3]

What we could not confirm

  • Whether ICE actually made a request to New York local officials to detain over 14,000 individuals for federal immigration processing.
  • The exact number of people ICE may have asked New York officials to detain, if any such request was made.
  • Whether any such request was made outside the period covered by the public records we could find.

How we checked

We looked at the original PBS NewsHour report, official Department of Homeland Security figures on ICE detainers in New York City, and the federal regulation that defines what a detainer is. We could not access internal ICE records or private communications, so we relied only on publicly available sources. If you have evidence about this claim, please send it to us. We reviewed 3 relevant sources.

Sources

  1. [1]www.pbs.org · WATCH: Mullin says he won't pause immigration enforcement after NYC ICE shooting
  2. [2]dhs.gov · Sanctuary City NYC Sees a More Than 400% Spike in ICE Detainers as DHS Prioritizes American People Over Criminal Illegal Aliens · July 23, 2025
  3. [3]law.cornell.edu · 8 CFR § 287.7 - Detainer provisions under section 287(d)(3) of the Act.

Help us check this claim

We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.

Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.

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