Former President Donald Trump has made notable promises regarding immigration enforcement, vowing to deport what he calls “the worst of the worst.” He frequently highlights concerns about “dangerous criminals”—including murderers, rapists, and child predators—whom he claims entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration. He asserts that his administration will implement the largest deportation program in American history to safeguard law-abiding citizens from these violent threats.
However, government data presents a contrasting narrative concerning ongoing detentions. Since Trump began his second term, arrests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have surged, as evidenced by reports of raids nationwide. Yet, data reveals that a significant portion of individuals currently detained by ICE have no criminal convictions. Among those who do have convictions, only a small percentage have been found guilty of serious crimes—reportedly differing starkly from the menacing picture Trump paints to bolster his border security initiatives.
A disparity between rhetoric and reality is evident, as pointed out by Ahilan Arulanantham, co-faculty director of the UCLA Law School's Center for Immigration Law and Policy. He remarked, “This administration, and also in the prior Trump administration, consistently claim to be going after the worst of the worst,” while in reality, “overwhelmingly, it’s people they’re targeting for arrest who have no criminal history of any kind.”
Recent ICE statistics indicate that as of June 29, 2025, there were 57,861 individuals in detention, with 41,495 (or 71.7%) lacking any criminal convictions. This total includes 14,318 individuals with pending charges and 27,177 who are undergoing immigration enforcement without any recognized criminal records. Each detainee is assigned a threat level, with those without prior convictions categorized as having “no ICE threat level.” Notably, as of June 23, 84% of detainees at 201 facilities nationwide were not assigned a threat level, while the remainder fell into threat levels 1 to 3.
Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director of the justice program at the Brennan Center for Justice, refuted Trump's claims that migrants are contributing to violent crime in the U.S., emphasizing that existing research contradicts the assertion that immigrants are driving crime rates. The assertions made by the administration regarding the focus on criminals with severe records were also challenged by Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She deemed the claim that ICE isn’t focusing on immigrants with criminal records as “false,” asserting that they are directed to apprehend individuals including gang members and rapists.
Data from the Cato Institute unveiled that, as of June 14, 2025, 65% of over 204,000 individuals processed by ICE since the start of the fiscal year had no criminal convictions, with only 6.9% of those with convictions having committed violent crimes. Nonviolent crimes primarily consisted of immigration, traffic, or vice offenses. The escalation in total ICE arrests was noted at the end of May 2025 after the White House set a quota of 3,000 arrests daily, which significantly increased from earlier monthly averages. Following this change, arrests surged, illustrating a stark rise in enforcement actions.
On the administration's part, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, stated that there is a dedicated effort to identify and apprehend unvetted criminals residing illegally in the U.S. She highlighted recent successful operations aimed at combating child exploitation and continued efforts to apprehend high-level offenders. While the White House acknowledges the presence of serious criminals among detainees, evidence suggests that most ICE detainees do not have criminal convictions.
Moreover, research continues to indicate that immigrants do not drive violent crime in the U.S. Studies repeatedly show that immigrant populations tend to commit fewer crimes compared to native-born Americans, with a 2023 report from the National Bureau of Economic Research indicating that immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than their native counterparts, a trend observed for over a century and more so since 1960.
The rhetoric surrounding immigration and crime has heightened fears in immigrant communities, as noted by experts like Arulanantham. This climate often fosters an environment that exacerbates hate crimes against these populations. Eisen emphasized the broader repercussions, stating that misleading narratives from government officials distort public safety perceptions and can affect all communities across the nation.
Overall, the discourse surrounding immigration enforcement and the alleged criminality of migrants remains contentious, with significant disconnects highlighted between official narratives and statistical evidence regarding crime rates and immigrant behavior.
