Immigrants with no criminal history have become the largest group in US immigration detention, according to official government data. The figures from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) show that 16,523 people with no criminal record are currently in detention, compared with 15,725 convicted of a crime and 13,767 facing pending charges.
The data, released on Thursday, marks the first time under the second Trump administration that the number of detainees without criminal records has surpassed those with convictions or pending charges. The total number of people in ICE custody stands at 59,762, with the remainder brought in by border officials.
The figures contradict the Trump administration’s repeated claims that its enforcement efforts focus on dangerous criminals. Being undocumented in the US is a civil infraction, not a criminal offence, though the administration has sought to characterise all unauthorised immigrants as criminals.
“These are hardworking people. These are not criminals,” said a former homeland security civil rights official, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. “I’m sure the Trump administration is defining ‘criminal’ really widely to say that if they are here undocumented, then they are a ‘criminal’. But these are not bad people.”
Since January, top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have directed ICE to increase arrests to 3,000 per day, leading to a surge in so-called collateral arrests. Federal officers from other agencies, as well as local law enforcement, have been deputised to assist. A DHS spokesperson defended the operations, stating that 70% of ICE arrests involve criminals with convictions or pending charges, excluding those with foreign convictions or Interpol notices.
