ICE data show that 72% of people detained have no criminal convictions

But government data on ongoing detention tells a different story.

there was Increased arrests Trump is his second term Report of the attack Nationwide. However, the majority of people currently in ICE detention have not been criminally convicted. Of those who do so, a relatively small number of people have been convicted of a high level of crime. It’s in stark contrast to the nightmare Trump describes in support of his border security agenda.

“There is a deep disconnect between rhetoric and reality,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA Law School. “It’s about chasing people with violent and dangerous criminal history, claiming that in this administration, and in the previous Trump administration, they’ve consistently kicked out the worst, simply talking about immigration enforcement.

Please look at the numbers

The latest ICE statistics It shows that as of June 29, 57,861 people were in custody by ICE. That includes 14,318 and 27,177 people with criminal charges pending Subject to immigration enforcementHowever, no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges are known.

Each detainee is assigned an ICE threat level on a scale of 1-3, with one being the highest. People with no criminal history are classified as “no ice threat level.” As of June 23, the most recent data available has not been posed to a threat level for 84% of people detained at 201 facilities nationwide. In addition, 7% were ranked as a level 1 threat, with 4% being level 2 and 5% being level 3.

“President Trump has partially justified this immigrant agenda by making false claims that immigrants are promoting violent crime in the United States. That’s simply not true,” said Lauren Brooke Eisen, senior director of the Judicial Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “There is no research or evidence to support his claim.”

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary to the Department of Homeland Security, called for an assessment that ICE has not targeted criminal history, saying DHS secretary Christie Noem “targets the worst and includes gang members, murderers and rapists.” She counted those who convicted detainees and accused them as “criminal illegal aliens.”

Private data Retrieved by Cato Institute As of June 14th, it shows that since the start of fiscal year 2025, which began on October 1, 2025, 65% of over 204,000 people have been treated to the system with ice. Of those convicted, only 6.9% committed violent crimes, with 53% committed non-violent crimes falling into three main categories: immigration, transportation and sub-crime.

All arrests for ice stop He was shot at the end of May after White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff Stephen Miller I gave the agency an assignment 3,000 arrests per day, rising from 650 a day in the first five months of Trump’s second term. ICE was arrested nearly 30% more in May than in April. Transaction Record Clearing Houseor trac. That number rose again in June, with another 28% increase.

The Cato Institute found that between February 8th and May 17th, the daily average of “noncriminals” handled by the system ranged from 421 to 454. In the next two weeks at the end of May, that number rose to 678, rising to 927 from June 1st to 14th.

“What you’re seeing is that there’s a huge increase in funds to detain people, eliminate people and enforce immigration laws,” Eisen said. “And what we’re seeing is that a lot of these people are back to the original questions you asked. These are not dangerous people.”

The administration says the focus is on dangerous criminals

White House spokesman Abigail Jackson said the administration is focused on eradicating future criminals in the country illegally.

“This week, the administration carried out a successful operation to rescue children from labour exploitation at a California marijuana facility, continuing to arrest the worst of the cases, including murderers, pedophiles, gang members and rapists,” she wrote in an email. “The proposal that the administration doesn’t focus on these dangerous criminals is completely wrong.”

Most ice detainees are not convicted offenders, but there are detainees who have committed serious crimes. Friday, government Released information About five high-level criminals arrested.

During his campaign, Trump highlighted several cases in which immigrants in the country were arrested for illegally and horrifying crimes. Among them is the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was illegally killed by a Venezuelan man in the United States last year. Jose Ibarra was found guilty of Riley’s murder and other crimes in February 2024 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. That’s true for the Thorn I’m looking for a new trial.

Playing cards in January Sign the law Laken Riley method, I need it Detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.

Immigrants are not driving violent crimes among us, research finds

Research is consistently discoveredBut immigrants don’t drive violent crimes in the United States, and commit fewer crimes than Americans actually born. 2023 working paper from National Bureau of Economic ResearchFor example, 150 years of immigrants reported lower imprisonment rates than immigrants born in the United States, but prices have been declining since 1960. According to the paper, immigrants were 60% less likely to be jailed.

Experts say the false rhetoric that comes out of the Trump administration creates real harm.

“It makes people in the immigrant community feel targeted and marginalized,” Alanandham said. “It creates more political and social spaces for hatred in all forms, including hate crimes against the immigrant community.”

Eisen noted that the impact would extend to other communities as well.

“This idea that every American should want a safe and prosperous community, and that the US president has made misleading statements about the truth is not a way to provide public safety,” she said.