ICE Arrests of Noncriminal Immigrants Soar 2,000%, With Nearly Half of Detainees Without Criminal Record

When rolling out its immigration agenda, the second Trump administration said its mass deportation efforts would focus on criminals described by officials as the "worst of the worst."

Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), however, paints a different picture. According to nonpublic ICE data obtained by the Cato Institute, nearly three-quarters of the people arrested by ICE had no criminal conviction.

Similarly, a new CBS News investigation found that the number of detainees without criminal records has surged dramatically, rising more than 2,000% since the start of the second Trump administration.

ICE's own public database, released as part of a transparency requirement mandated by Congress, shows the agency held 65,135 people in detention facilities across the country, the highest number ever publicly reported.

The data also shows that nearly half of all detainees in custody as of Nov. 16 had no criminal charges or convictions in the United States. They were being held for civil violations of immigration law, including unauthorized entry or overstaying a visa.

ICE reported holding almost 31,000 people with no criminal charges, compared with more than 34,000 who had either a conviction or a pending charge, although the agency did not specify the seriousness or nature of those offenses.

According to the CBS report, arrests of people with no criminal convictions or charges have grown sharply throughout the year. Between Jan. 26 and Nov. 16, such arrests increased by 2,143 percent, underscoring that a significant share of those targeted under the administration's hardline approach are undocumented immigrants with no criminal history.

The Cato Institute's analysis echoed those findings. Its review of ICE records showed that 70 percent of people deported by the Trump administration had no criminal conviction and that 43 percent had neither a conviction nor a criminal charge.

"President Trump's deportation agenda does not match the campaign promises he made or the rhetoric from his officials," the report said. "The president has already acknowledged that deportations are harming the economy by removing good workers. More importantly, the agenda pulls resources away from pursuing genuine public safety threats, whether involving immigrants or U.S. citizens. ICE should direct its efforts back toward serious public safety concerns."

Despite these findings, administration officials continue to insist that most people arrested by ICE and other federal immigration agents have criminal records.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told CBS News that the Trump administration is focused on what it considers "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens."

McLaughlin added that detainees listed as non criminals may have warrants or criminal histories outside the United States or may pose national security risks. DHS has not provided data showing how many people fall into those categories.