Increase in ICE Arrests Shows Growing Detentions of Non-Criminal Immigrants

Immigration Enforcement Shift Raises Questions About Trump’s “Worst of the Worst” Claims

The Trump administration’s repeated assertions that it targets “the worst of the worst” criminal offenders in its immigration enforcement operations appear increasingly at odds with its own data, according to an analysis of arrest records.

While Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has maintained that the administration is focusing on “violent criminals” and those “breaking our laws,” ICE detention statistics show a growing proportion of detainees with no criminal history at all.

“The individuals that we are going after are those that are violent criminals, those that are breaking our laws and those that have final removal orders,” Noem stated at a July press conference.

Data obtained by the Deportation Data Project, however, reveals a notable trend: the percentage of ICE detainees without criminal convictions or pending charges has nearly doubled during Trump’s first year back in office. In his first three months, 21.9% of those arrested had no criminal record. By mid-October, that figure had climbed to 40.5%.

January figures show the trend continuing, with 42.7% of detainees having neither convictions nor pending charges, according to publicly available ICE data.

Meanwhile, the proportion of those with actual criminal convictions—not just pending charges—fell from 44.7% in Trump’s first three months to 31.8% by mid-October.

“I think when you listen to senior leaders in the Trump administration, what they’re saying is that they’re arresting what they’re calling the, quote, worst of the worst. They’re arresting people that they’re referring to as murderers and rapists,” said Graeme Blair, associate professor of political science at UCLA and co-director of the Deportation Data Project. “And I think that that just really doesn’t tell the story of what they’re doing.”

The president has frequently characterized his immigration enforcement targets as dangerous criminals. In a January Truth Social post, he referred to “Tens of Millions of Illegal Alien Criminals” including “Hundreds of Thousands of Convicted Murderers, Rapists, Kidnappers, Drug Dealers, and Terrorists.”

DHS launched a “Worst of the Worst” website in December to showcase examples of immigrants with serious criminal histories who have been arrested during the administration. Officials maintain that their enforcement efforts remain focused on dangerous individuals.

“Every single individual [arrested or detained] has committed a crime, but 70% of them have committed or have charges against them on violent crimes,” Noem claimed on CBS’ “Face the Nation” in January.

White House border czar Tom Homan has cited similar figures, stating on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “70%, approximately, it goes anywhere from 60% to 70%, of people that are arrested are criminals, bottom line.”

Critics note that these claims rely on counting people with only pending charges—not convictions—as “criminals.”

“A charge is not a conviction,” explained Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director for justice at the Brennan Center for Justice. “People are innocent until proven guilty.”

The shift toward arresting more immigrants without criminal records appears to coincide with the administration’s push for higher arrest numbers. Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser, stated on Fox News in May that “we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day.”

While arrests haven’t reached that goal, ICE detention has increased by approximately 80% since May. The number of immigrants detained by ICE without convictions or pending charges has increased dramatically—from 3,165 in February 2025 to 25,193 in January 2026. By comparison, in December 2024, during the final month of the Biden administration, that figure was just 869.

David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, analyzed leaked ICE data and found that among detainees with criminal convictions, only about 5% had violent criminal convictions.

“These are someone had an altercation at a bar or things like that, not serious violent criminals who committed murder and rape,” Bier said in a radio interview.

A New York Times analysis of ICE data confirmed these findings, noting that nationwide, just 7% of those arrested in ICE operations had a violent conviction. The most common non-violent convictions were for driving under the influence and other traffic offenses.

When confronted with statistics showing higher percentages of arrests of immigrants without criminal records, DHS officials have suggested these individuals may have criminal histories in their home countries. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has claimed that many counted as “non-criminals” are “actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more; they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S.”

However, the department has not provided data to substantiate these claims.

“We’re not aware of data that DHS holds, and certainly it’s not been provided in the data that they’ve shared with us about any kind of foreign criminal connections,” said Blair of the Deportation Data Project. “I think that that’s, frankly, a lot of bluster.”

Experts note that the administration’s lack of transparency makes it difficult to assess the accuracy of its public statements about immigration enforcement priorities.

“We have no way of knowing if the worst of the worst are being targeted,” said Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. “The government is not giving us access to that kind of data.”