Newly released data from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has exposed a dramatic shift in American immigration enforcement, revealing a staggering increase in the detention of individuals without criminal records since President Donald Trump assumed office.
Unprecedented Rise in Non-Criminal Detentions
The statistics, published by ICE to comply with congressional transparency rules, show that as of November 16, the agency, together with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), held 65,135 people in detention facilities across the United States. This represents the highest publicly reported total since the agency's creation in 2003.
Most strikingly, nearly half of those detained – 30,986 individuals – had no criminal records or pending criminal charges. These individuals are classified as 'other immigration violators', detained solely for civil breaches of US immigration law.
The other detainee categories included 17,171 people with criminal convictions and 16,978 with pending criminal charges, each constituting approximately 26% of the total detainee population.
A Stark Departure from Promised Enforcement Priorities
The figures appear to contradict the Trump administration's repeated assurances that its immigration enforcement would primarily target 'the worst of the worst'.
Since January 26, the number of non-criminal detainees in ICE custody alone has skyrocketed by 2,143 percent, surging from just 945 to 21,194. During the same period, detentions of individuals with criminal convictions rose by 73%, while those with pending criminal charges increased by 226%.
This seismic shift has transformed the non-criminal category from the smallest detention group at the start of the year to nearly as large as the other two categories combined, making it now the single largest group in ICE custody.
Public Opinion and Political Fallout
This aggressive enforcement approach coincides with a significant drop in public approval for ICE. A recent Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found the agency's approval rating has fallen to just 34 percent, a four-point decline since October. The survey of 1,246 registered voters revealed that 45 percent disapprove of the agency and its tactics.
Among the 55 percent of respondents who disapprove of President Trump's overall performance, 41 percent cited the actions of ICE and immigration enforcement as one of their top three reasons for their negative assessment.
The detention of Bruna Ferreira, who has an 11-year-old son with the brother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, has recently highlighted these enforcement methods. Ferreira was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts earlier this month and is currently held at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
Prominent conservative voices have begun expressing concern. Independent podcaster Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump late in the 2024 election, questioned the tactics in his popular show, The Joe Rogan Experience. "They said, 'We're gonna get rid of the criminals and the gang members first'... And now we're seeing, like, Home Depots get raided. Like, that's crazy," Rogan stated, adding that voters "wouldn't have signed up" for raids targeting migrant workers at construction sites and similar locations rather than cartel members or drug dealers.
As the data reveals the true scope of current immigration enforcement strategies, the gap between official rhetoric and operational reality continues to fuel both public discontent and political debate.
