Trump Administration Has Arrested Hundreds of Dreamers, Says Over 90% of Them Had Criminal Histories

Federal immigration authorities arrested 261 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during the first 10 months of the second Trump administration, deporting 86 of them, according to Department of Homeland Security figures shared with Congress and obtained by CBS News.

In a letter to Sen. Dick Durbin, DHS said that 241 of the 261 DACA beneficiaries taken into custody between Jan. 1 and Nov. 19, 2025 — or 92% — had "criminal histories" beyond civil immigration violations. The letter, signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, did not detail the severity of the alleged offenses. DHS typically counts both pending charges and convictions as criminal histories.

The data obtained by CBS News provide the most comprehensive official accounting to date of DACA recipients swept up in President Trump's expanded deportation effort. As of June 2025, about 516,000 immigrants were enrolled in DACA, a program created in 2012 that grants temporary work authorization and protection from deportation to certain undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

Sens. Durbin, Alex Padilla and Mark Kelly reacted in a statement, saying the arrests are "deeply troubling" and arguing the detentions "disrupt families, harm communities, and inflict unnecessary social, emotional, and economic costs." They also questioned DHS's characterization of the arrests, saying the department "claims that 241 of the 261 DACA recipients arrested had 'criminal histories,' without providing any further details."

"DACA recipients go through strict background checks every time they renew this protection," the senators said, adding that they are demanding additional information about the basis for the arrests and removals.

The percentage of DACA recipients cited as having criminal histories contrasts with broader enforcement data. According to an internal DHS document obtained by CBS News in early February, about 60% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE in the administration's first year had criminal charges or convictions, while less than 14% had violent criminal records.

The Trump administration has not moved to formally end DACA during its second term, though the policy remains in legal jeopardy. Federal courts in Texas and Louisiana have declared DACA unlawful but allowed current recipients to continue renewing their protections while litigation proceeds. Republican-led states have asked a federal judge to order the program's gradual termination.

In its letter, DHS emphasized that DACA "comes with no right or entitlement to remain in the United States indefinitely" and said recipients who violate its terms "are also subject to termination and removal."