New data from immigration and customs enforcement under the Trump administration highlights the scope of recent detention, with almost half of individuals detained in the first two weeks of February being criminally convicted and makes it clear that he has not received pending charges.
This marks a shift away from the regime’s focus on deporting criminals, raising questions about the true nature of ice enforcement priorities.
New figures obtained by NBC News show that 41% of the 4,422 individuals detained by ICE during this period were undocumented immigrants with no criminal history and more than 1,800 people.
The numbers reflect the broader approach highlighted by President Trump’s border emperor Tom Homan. He has repeatedly stated that the administration’s priorities are to target the “worst first.”
“We want to get as many criminals as possible,” Homan argued, reinforcing the claim that ICE’s focus should focus on public safety threats. However, data challenges the story, showing that almost half of the detainees in February were not criminals.
In late January, Homan mentioned detaining an individual with no criminal history as a “collective arrest.” This is a practice that showed that the administration had previously tried to limit it.
“We absolutely recognize the fact that there are collateral arrests, and that’s absolutely a concern for us,” said Lupe Carrasco Cardona, a community self-defense coalition.
Cardona, who has helped organize patrols to monitor ice activity in southern LA, has expressed to the alarm that the number of such arrests is much higher than expected.
In contrast, the Biden administration’s records for the 2024 federal fiscal year were very different. Of the 113,431 immigrant arrests made under Biden, only 28% of individuals had no criminal history.
This harsh difference has prompted concerns about the current trajectory of ice detention practices under the Trump administration.
ICE has made arrests including individuals who allegedly wanted serious crimes, including murder, attempted rape and smuggling firearms, but since President Trump took office, agencies still have a complete collapse of detention. It has not been announced.
According to Ice’s social media, some of the detained people were sought because of violent crimes. However, the numbers suggest a wider range than initially claimed, with 87% of detainees facing long deportation procedures, extended over months or years.
Additionally, the surge in detention puts an additional burden on the country’s detention facilities. Nationally, ICE has the capacity to detain 41,500 individuals, but by mid-February, the number of people in detention was 41,169.
As a result, the Trump administration has ordered the expansion of detention facilities, including the potential use of Guantanamo Bay, which can accommodate up to 30,000 detainees. However, as of Wednesday, only 112 detainees were brought to the facility, highlighting the challenges the ice faces with growing detainee population.
The current detention numbers and the nature of the arrests have alarmed the administration’s broader immigration strategy and continues to encourage debate about the impact of these policies on immigrant communities.
As ICE is committed to addressing concerns about its capacity limitations and secured arrests, the question remains whether a focus on non-criminal immigration will continue to control the administration’s enforcement efforts.
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