Top authorities have emphasised the apprehension of immigrants convicted of crimes including assault, murder, and rape, branding them as nasty murderers who terrorised US neighbourhoods, as the Trump management has increased raids in Los Angeles and around the nation. A small percentage of migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October have been found guilty of violent or sexual offences, according to CNN.
What does ICE data reveal about current detentions?
According to administration-released public ICE data, the majority of immigrants in the agency’s custody do not have a history of criminal convictions. Including those detained by ICE agents and those detained by Customs and Border Protection who were subsequently placed in ICE custody, the internal data covers the more than 185,000 immigrants who were booked into ICE custody during the final months of the Biden administration and the first months of the Trump administration.
The documents stand in sharp contrast to the public statements made by the Trump administration. Nearly every immigrant mentioned or particularly identified in ICE or DHS public releases who was arrested or deported in the past month was found guilty or charged with a felony other than immigration infractions. Almost two-thirds were classified as having been found guilty or charged with major offences.
With the deployment of federal immigration officers to Los Angeles and the mobilisation of the California National Guard and US Marines by President Donald Trump to quell anti-ICE demonstrations, the administration’s focus on suspected immigrant criminals has intensified this month.
But most of the instances that DHS has made public involve individuals who have a history of serious offences. A news release last week that named people detained in recent Los Angeles ICE operations mentioned and photographed eleven aliens, ten of whom had a criminal history of weapons charges, sexual assault, drug trafficking, murder, robbery or assault.
According to immigration groups on the ground in Los Angeles, however, more workers and lifelong residents who have never been arrested or convicted have been held in ICE raids this month.
What role does CBP play in ICE transfers?
CBP officials, who primarily target those crossing US borders, captured around 71,000 of the over 185,000 aliens processed into ICE custody this fiscal year. The majority of the immigrants now being held by CBP had no criminal histories, according to public ICE statistics. This might be because many of them have never been in the US before.
According to the analysed statistics, almost 12,700 individuals were brought into ICE custody this fiscal year with a traffic infraction as their most serious criminal record. After offences involving immigration, this is the second-highest category of convictions. It’s unclear if the data includes individuals convicted of driving under the influence, even though it also shows that 234 people were found guilty of alcohol-related offences.
About 40,000 individuals who were placed in ICE custody had a pending criminal charge,
according to the statistics, though almost all of those instances lacked a description of the offence. The majority of the outstanding offences may or may not be connected to immigration.
The percentage of those in ICE custody who have not been found guilty of a crime was higher in the two years before during the Biden administration than it is now in fiscal year 2025, according to the agency’s data. However, that seems to be mostly due to the fact that during the Biden years, a far greater number of immigrants were apprehended at the border by CBP and then transferred to ICE custody.
Compared to roughly 4,500 people per month since Trump took office, CBP arrested an average of 16,000 people per month in 2024 who entered ICE detention. Additionally, ICE detained 7,800 persons on average each month in 2024; this figure has increased after Trump’s return to the White House, reaching over 23,500 in May.
