President Donald Trump Committed Exit “the worst case”. He often Speech Public appearance Regarding countless “dangerous criminals” around the world, including murderers, rapists and child predators, he said he entered the United States illegally under the Biden administration. He promises to expel millions of immigrants The largest deportation plan In the history of the United States, law-abiding citizens from the threat of violence.
But government data surrounding ongoing detention tells a different story.
There is one Increase in arrests Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States since Trump began his second term Report of the attack nationwide. However, most of the people currently detained by Ice have no criminal convictions. Among those who do so, relatively few are high-level crimes – in stark contrast to Trump’s shocking nightmare in support of his border security agenda.
“There is a profound disconnect between speech and reality,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-faculty director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA Law School. “This administration and in the previous Trump administration, they have been claiming to follow the worst, just talking about immigration enforcement, as if following violent, dangerous people with a broad criminal history. But, despite this, their goal is that they are targeting anyone with arrests without any criminal history.”
Look at the numbers
up to date Ice Statistics It shows that as of June 29, 57,861 people were detained by ICE, 41,495-71.7%, of which no criminal convictions were committed. Among them are 14,318 people with pending criminal charges and 27,177 people Immigration law enforcementbut there are no known criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.
Each detainee allocated a threat level to the ICE in a ratio of 1 to 3, with one being the highest. Those with no criminal record are classified as “no ice threat level.” As of June 23, the latest data available, 84% of the 201 facilities detained nationwide did not give threat levels. Another 7% were rated as a Level 1 Threat, 4% were Level 2, and 5% were Level 3.
“President Trump justifies this immigration agenda to some extent, and claims that immigrants commit violent crimes in driving in the United States is not true at all,” said Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director of the judicial program at the Brennan Justice Center. “There is no research and evidence to support his claim.”
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said ICE was not “false” against immigrants with criminal records, and said DHS secretary Kristi Noem has instructed ICE to “target the worst people, including the worst ice, including gang members, murderers and rapists.” She deemed convicted detainees and those with pending charges “criminal illegal foreigners.”
Non-public data Obtained by Kato Academy It shows that as of June 14, more than 204,000 people have processed through ICE into the system with no criminal convictions since the start of the fiscal year 2025 (starting on October 1, 2024). Of those convicted, only 6.9% committed violent crimes, while 53% committed nonviolent crimes, which were divided into three main categories: immigration, transportation or mischief.
Bing arrests completely White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was shot dead in late May Give the institution a quota In the first five months of Trump’s second semester, 3,000 people were arrested every day, up from 650 a day. According to Bing, Bing’s people arrested nearly 30% of them than in April. Transaction Record Clearinghouseor trac. This figure rose again in June, with an additional 28%.
The Cato Institute found that between February 8 and May 17, the daily average of “non-criminals” processed into the system ranged from 421 to 454.
“What you’re seeing is a huge increase in funds for detaining people, removing people, enforcing immigration laws,” Eisen said. “What we’re seeing is that many of these people go back to the original question you asked, these are not dangerous people.”
Government says the focus is on dangerous criminals
White House spokesman Abigail Jackson said the administration is strongly focused on uncensored criminals who are illegally rooted in the country.
“Just this week, the government successfully rescued a successful operation in a cannabis facility in California, thus saving an operation from labor exploitation and continuing to arrest the worst, including murderers, pedophiles, gang members and rapists,” she wrote in an email. “Any advice that the government does not focus on these dangerous criminals is wrong.”
While most detainees are not convicted criminals, some have committed serious crimes. Friday, the government Publish information Among five senior criminals arrested.
During his campaign, Trump highlighted several cases in which the country was illegally arrested for horrible crimes. These include: the killing of 22-year-old Lake Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was killed in the United States by a Venezuelan last year. Jose Ibarra was found guilty of murder and other crimes in February 2024 at Riley and killed him to life imprisonment without parole. Ibara is Seeking a new trial.
Trump in January Signed as law Lake Riley Act, This requires Unauthorized immigration detention accused of theft and violent crimes.
Research has found that immigrants did not commit violent crimes in driving.
Research has been findingHowever, in the United States, immigrants do not drive violent crimes, and in fact they commit fewer crimes than locally born Americans. A working paper for 2023 National Bureau of Economic ResearchFor example, the 150-year immigrant incarceration rate is lower than that of U.S.-born immigrants, and the rate has declined since 1960.
Experts say false remarks from the Trump administration have caused real harm.
“This makes people in the immigrant community feel targeted and marginalized,” Arulanantham said. “It creates more political and social space for hatred in all forms, including hate crimes against immigrant communities.”
Eisen notes that this impact also extends to other communities.
“All Americans should want a safe and thriving community, and the idea that the president’s misunderstanding of truth and distorted reality is not a way to provide public safety,” she said.
