(Bloomberg) — In his push to deport what he calls the “worst of the worst,” President Donald Trump’s administration has expanded its reach to include a significant number of immigrants who have no criminal records in the United States.
Recent data from the University of California at Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project reveals that in July, approximately 37% of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests were of individuals without any US criminal convictions or charges. This marks a dramatic rise from just 13% in December, prior to Joe Biden’s administration.
David Hausman, a law professor and director of the Deportation Data Project, pointed out that it’s contradictory to execute mass deportations while simultaneously focusing on serious offenders.
While the rate of arresting non-criminals is on the rise, Trump’s administration has also seen an increase in overall immigrant detentions, including those with existing criminal violations. During Trump’s initial six months in the White House, arrests of individuals with US criminal convictions surged more than 100% to nearly 92,000, compared to the last six months of the Biden term.
The Deportation Data Project tracks criminal activities within the US, but it’s important to note that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also makes arrests based on allegations from other countries. The DHS has a pattern of sharing stories on social media, often spotlighting foreign criminal accusations but frequently lacks detailed information.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’s assistant secretary for public affairs, remarked that many who are classified as “non-criminals” may be involved in severe offenses, including terrorism and gang activity, but simply lack a US criminal record.
Trump’s team quickly ramped up immigration arrests, although the numbers once showed signs of stabilizing. In late May, after a strategy meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, ICE was instructed to aim for at least 3,000 arrests daily.
Despite the Justice Department denying the existence of a formal arrest quota, ICE’s operations are undeniably intensifying. With over $150 billion freshly allocated for border enforcement, the administration is set to expand migrant detention facilities and significantly increase its workforce of ICE agents.
Currently, while criminal arrests have indeed increased, Trump’s administration is also catching more individuals who have never committed a crime in the US. In fact, these non-criminals made up over 60% of ICE arrests in Trump’s first six months, up from 44% during Biden’s concluding period in office.
Among criminal arrests under Trump, around 8% involved serious charges such as homicide, human trafficking, and sexual offenses. Conversely, around 10% of arrests during Biden’s last six months related to grave crimes.
For both administrations, approximately 58% of the most serious offenses among those detained for criminal activity were related to driving under the influence, assault, drug crimes, and immigration violations.
–With contributions from Elena Mejia.
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