ICE Arrests of People Without Criminal Charges Surged In Florida, Data Shows

Arrests conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of people without criminal charges or convictions have surged in Florida, according to a new report.

Axios Miami noted that such detentions comprised 36% of the total in ICE's Miami Field Office region, which covers Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The figure compares to 24% in May and 21% in April.

Arrests without charges or convictions, however, are still lower than the national figure, which clocked in at 47% in early June. The outlet noted that the increase took place after officials in the Trump administration directed law enforcement to drastically increase arrest quotas. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller reportedly called for ICE to arrest 3,000 migrants a day in late May.

Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the 47% figure is untrue, claiming in mid July that "media continues to peddle this FALSE narrative that ICE is not targeting criminal illegal aliens."

"The official data tells the true story: 70% of ICE arrests were criminal illegal aliens with convictions or pending charges. Additionally, many illegal aliens categorized as 'non-criminals' are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gang members and more — they just don't have a rap sheet in the U.S. This deceptive 'non-criminal' categorization is devoid of reality and misleads the American public," she added.

The Florida Highway Patrol will launch a unit specifically to identify and arrest undocumented migrants, Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Friday. The force has detained almost 3,000 arrests so far this year.

ICE has been ramping enforcement operations over the past weeks, recently being directed to detain migrants who entered the country illegally without offering them bond hearings.

The policy, issued by acting ICE director Todd M. Lyons, instructs officers to detain these immigrants "for the duration of their removal proceedings," which can last months or years. Previously, many immigrants residing in the U.S. interior could request a bond hearing before an immigration judge.

The directive relies on an interpretation of a section of immigration law that says certain immigrants "shall be detained." Historically, this clause applied to recent arrivals, not long-term residents, as The Washington Post explained.

Moreover, a longtime ICE agent told The Atlantic that an agency team is choosing to direct their focus from drug and human trafficking cases to deportationsto meet quotas from the Trump administration. "No drug cases, no human trafficking, no child exploitation," the agent told the outlet. "It's infuriating."

Congress has passed a tax and spending package allocating $45 billion over four years to expand ICE's detention capacity. The measure aims to double the daily detention population to 100,000. The funding will also add 10,000 ICE agents and 8,500 Customs and Border Protection officers. As the Post explains, ICE is currently holding about 56,000 immigrants a day, working overtime to fulfill Trump's goal of deporting 1 million people in his first year.