ICE detained nearly 75,000 migrants without any criminal background, records reveal

WASHINGTON, DC: Nearly 75,000 migrants with no criminal history were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the first nine months of the Trump administration, according to newly disclosed data.

The figures, spanning January 20 to October 15, showed that more than a third of the roughly 220,000 people detained had no prior offenses, challenging the administration's claims that enforcement would focus on dangerous criminals.

The data was obtained by the University of California Berkeley's Deportation Data Project through a lawsuit after the administration stopped publishing detailed arrest information. Analysts said that the findings offered the clearest look yet at how the early crackdown unfolded. 

Data contradicts Trump officials' claim of targeting violent offenders

The newly uncovered arrest records show that ICE detained nearly 75,000 people with no criminal background, despite repeated assurances from President Trump and DHS leaders that enforcement would zero in on "murderers and gang members." 

"It contradicts what the administration has been saying about people who are convicted criminals and that they are going after the worst of the worst," said Ariel Ruiz Soto, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. 

The dataset, compiled by an internal ICE office that tracks arrests, detention and deportations, includes no distinctions between minor offenses and serious violent crimes for those who did have records.

It also does not include arrests made by the Border Patrol, which has launched its own operations deep inside US cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Charlotte. 

Border Patrol's expanding role remains largely opaque. "That is the black box that we know nothing about," Ruiz Soto said. "How many arrests is Border Patrol doing? How many of those are leading to removals and under what conditions?" 

Reportedly, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to comment on the findings. 

ICE allegedly averaged 824 daily arrests, well below target

ICE field offices have been under pressure to dramatically increase arrest numbers.

In mid-May, White House adviser Stephen Miller even threatened to fire senior ICE officials if they failed to hit 3,000 arrests per day, according to NBC News.

But the internal records showed that ICE made an average of just 824 arrests daily, far below the target, though still reportedly more than double the daily average under the Biden administration in 2024. 

The demographic breakdown highlighted the scope of the operations- roughly 90% of those arrested were men.

Mexican nationals also accounted for the largest group, about 85,000, followed by migrants from Guatemala (31,000) and Honduras (24,000). More than 60% were between ages 25 and 45, a range employers said is crucial to the labor force. 

"Now we're really feeling that pain in the workforce," said George Carrillo, CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council.

"Now even the most conservative Republicans are feeling it and understanding that, hey, something different has to be done because now it is affecting their businesses," he said, "and they're worried about this strategy."

The data revealed that 22,959 people left the country under "voluntary departure."