Majority of immigrants taken in by ICE did not have serious criminal convictions.

Question

There is a lot of debate whether ICE is doing good or bad with the people they are taking in, and whether it is even legal for them to be doing the things they are. It has been said that less than 10% of immigrants taken into the custody of ICE since October had serious criminal convictions (https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/06/30/dhs-debunks-fake-news-media-narratives-june), but this is false according to DHS. An article reads, "In President Trump's first 100 days, 70% of ICE arrests were criminal illegal aliens with convictions or pending charges" (https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/06/30/dhs-debunks-fake-news-media-narratives-june).

It has also been said that the immigrants with no criminal record have now become the largest group in ICE detention. This can make it hard to believe that the statement above really is false. The Guardian says, "The number of people with no criminal history arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and detained by the Trump Administration has now surpassed the number of those charged with crimes" (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/26/immigrants-criminal-record-ice-detention).

Answer 1

After conducting my own research, I found that this claim does appear to be true. Multiple reliable data sources show that most people detained by ICE do not have a criminal record. Although a portion of detainees do have some type of conviction or pending charge, the majority do not, and many of the convictions that do exist are for minor, non-violent offenses. This challenges the common belief that ICE primarily targets individuals who pose a serious threat to public safety. For example, recent reporting shows that “immigrants with no criminal record are now the largest group in US immigration detention” (Congress GOV). This demonstrates a major shift in ICE’s enforcement patterns and suggests that the system is focusing heavily on individuals with no documented history of criminal activity. Additional data reinforce this point. According to an analysis shared by the Cato Institute, “ICE data show that 65 percent of people taken into custody had no criminal convictions, and more than 93 percent had never been convicted of any violent offense” (CATO). This means that not only are most detainees not criminals, but an overwhelming majority have never committed a violent act. Many of the convictions that do appear in ICE records are tied to immigration violations, traffic offenses, or other low level infractions that do not indicate a threat to public safety. These findings matter because they contradict the widely promoted narrative that ICE’s detention and deportation efforts are focused on only people who have criminal records. When the majority of detainees have no criminal background, it raises questions about the goals, priorities, and fairness of the current immigration enforcement system. Overall, the evidence makes it clear that claims about ICE focusing on dangerous criminals are misleading, and that the reality of who is being detained looks very different from how it is often portrayed.

Articles: https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118692/documents/HMKP-119-JU00-20251118-SD001.pdf

https://www.cato.org/blog/65-people-taken-ice-had-no-convictions-93-no-violent-convictions

Comments

Absolutely, I appreciate the clarification on how most of the criminal charges/pending charges are for non violent offenses. I think it's important when talking about ICE to remember how the people who support ICE claim that they are "getting murderers and violent criminals off the streets". Congress stating that the largest group of undocumented immigrants in ICE detention are those with no criminal record is a clear example.

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I 100% agree with the argument that most detainees are undocumented individuals who either have been in trouble with the law or have committed minimal crimes. The fact that ICE hides behind the motto of arresting "criminal illegal aliens with convictions or pending charges," and using it to justify their actions is crazy when with evidence, it is not true.

Answer 2

According to my research, the claim that the "majority of immigrants taken in by ICE did not have serious criminal convictions" appears to be true. In an article by the Guardian, "Immigrants with no criminal record are now the largest group in US immigration detention, according to data released by the government" (Guardian). According to some graphs from tracreports.org, "73.6% of current detainees have no criminal convictions" (tracreports.org), and according to an analysis by CATO Institute, "65 percent, or 133,687 individuals, had no criminal convictions. . . [and] more than 93 percent of ICE book-ins were never convicted of any violent offenses" (CATO). With all of this information I can confidently say that this claim is true and is supported by multiple sources.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/26/immigrants-criminal-record-ice-detention , https://tracreports.org/immigration/quickfacts/ , https://www.cato.org/blog/65-people-taken-ice-had-no-convictions-93-no-violent-convictions

Comments

I agree with you, looking at the articles you chose and looking through it I agree with your statement about how ICE is taking immigrants with no criminal record. The articles you chose are very straightforward and the perfect example of what ICE has done.

Answer 3

Recently the US government under the Trump administration has greatly increased the investment Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) so deport people from the country. There is lots of controversy weather it is legal and if the people they take even deserve to be deported. 

According to CATO institute says that 70% of deported people have no criminal conviction and 43% have not been convicted or charged in the month of November. As well as of all the people deported in the past year only 90,000 had convictions. Out of over 500,000 depurations.

5% of People Detained By ICE Have Violent Convictions, 73% No Convictions | Cato at Liberty Blog

DHS Removes More than Half a Million Illegal Aliens From US | Homeland Security

 

Comments

I really like the sources that you used to state your evidence, the data raises serious concerns about current immigration enforcement. If most people deported have no criminal convictions, it creates the question of the justification for greatly expanding ICE funding. When only a small percentage of detainees have violent records, its valid to start asking whether these policies are fair, effective, or aligned with the stated goal of public safety.

Answer 4

The Department of Homeland Security directly challenges the idea that ICE primarily targets non-criminals. The DHS states, "Less than 10% of immigrants taken into IDE Custody since October had serious criminal convictions is false. They also claim that Secretary Noem has directed ICE to target the "worst of the worst," including gang members, murderers, and rapists. The Guardian reports that the number of people with no criminal history arrested by ICE and detained by the Trump administration has surpassed the number of those charged with crimes. While DHS denies the claim, multiple external sources and data analyses strongly indicate that a majority of individuals detained have either no criminal convictions or only minor ones. The truth hinges on the definition of a serious criminal conviction versus any conviction. If serious implies violent or high-level felonies, the claim that the majority lack these appears true.

Answer 5

When I first read this claim I was not sure if it was completely true. I can understand if it were true if the percentage were around 20%-40% but after researching articles I found that not only the majority of immigrants that are taken away by ICE have zero criminal record, but the percentage of these immigrants are around 70% to 80%. This number shocked me because it makes me question how the government (ICE) has yet to ask themselves, what they are doing. A claim made by Aubrey_Volland states, “Majority of immigrants taken in by ICE did not have serious criminal convictions”. They provided great sources when making this claim and the source they provided that made me believe that this claim seemed true was the article called “DHS Debunks Fake News Media Narratives from June” by Homeland Security. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/06/30/dhs-debunks-fake-news-media-narratives-june  

This article directly addresses what is true and false. The first false statements were claiming majority of ICE arrests were criminals.

According to a website called Trace Reports, https://tracreports.org/immigration/quickfacts/

73%.6 of ICE arrests have zero criminal convictions. A current total of 65,135 detainees and 47,964 have no correspondence to criminal records. This source provides a lot of valuable information that have similarities to other articles claims.

Overall, this claim seems to be correct and not misleading or false.

Comments

Reading the article one more time, and reading your statement, I agree with you about how the majority of immigrants are being taken by ICE with no criminal record, and also are citizens in the United States

Answer 6

Think of this as your investigation log. Answer each question to explain what you discovered and how you got there.

1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings.
2. What primary sources did you find (e.g., transcripts, videos of politician speeches, tweets from public figures, scientific studies)? For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
3. What secondary sources did you find (e.g., newspapers, magazines)? Only use secondary sources if sufficient primary sources are not available. For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
4. What potential biases or interests might each of your sources have?
5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking?
6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking?
7. What happened when you tried contacting the person or group who made the original claim? (Always try to contact them—it’s okay if you don’t get a reply. For example, if the claim is that the president said something, try reaching out to the administration. If it was a Bluesky user, message that user on Bluesky.)

Answer 7

After going through the article you have chosen, I agree with you about how ICE is going after immigrants, especially when they have no criminal record at all. During my research on ICE, the New York Times talks about how an employed target worker was attacked by an ICE agent, "Federal officers are descending on the streets in what they say is an effort to find undocumented immigrants with criminal and dangerouse background. They are displaying to help them. But may resident, business owners, and immigrant workers have denounced the tactics, saying the agents are indiscriniately denounced the tatics, saying the agents are indiscriminately sweeping up hard-working friends and neighbors based on racial and ethnic profiling, and are increasingly organizing to puch ack." (New York Times Article) Attacking people who are born and raised here without having any criminal record.

Comments

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/ice-videos-minnesota-trump-immigration.html