ICE More Than Doubled Arrests Of People Without Criminal Convictions In June

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than doubled the arrests of people without criminal convictions in early June, according to a new report.

Data obtained by Axios showed that the figure clocked in at 47% in that period, compared to 21% in early May. The shift illustrates a push by the administration to increase the amount of arrests overall.

The outlet added that ICE was reporting 930 daily arrests on June 26, 42% of which impacted people without charges or convictions.

The Trump administration rejected the report, with Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin saying "the 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 agency did not follow up to a question by the outlet about where the 70% figure came from.

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."

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller previously called for ICE to arrest 3,000 migrants a day. Border Czar Tom Homan recently upped that demand to 7,000 per day while speaking to reporters earlier this month.

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.