As the Trump White House continues to say its mass-deportation program is targeting the “worst of the worst” criminals in the country illegally, new nonpublic federal data shows the claim is bullshit.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) numbers leaked to the libertarian Cato Institute show that nearly nearly three in four people (73%) booked into the agency’s custody between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15 had no criminal conviction. What’s more, just 5% had a violent criminal conviction.
The Cato report comes as administration officials continue to parrot President Donald Trump’s claim that the administration is intent on “returning millions and millions of criminal aliens.” To point, federal authorities this week issued a statement claiming without offering proof that 51 of 140 people swept up in a Nov. 16, raid in San Antonio raid are “confirmed” members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
“President Trump’s deportation agenda does not match the campaign promises that he made nor the rhetoric from his officials,” David J. Bier, Cato’s director of immigration studies, wrote in the report. “The president has already recognized that deportations are hurting the U.S. economy in deporting good workers. But perhaps more importantly, the agenda is taking resources away from targeting true public safety threats, whether from immigrants or Americans.”
In its analysis, Cato also found that of people booked by ICE between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15:
- Nearly half (47%) had no criminal conviction nor even pending criminal charges.
- Only 8% had a violent or property criminal conviction.
- A majority of criminal convictions were for vice, immigration or traffic charges.
Cato also points out in its study that DHS and ICE frequently release public statements calling detentions of people with pending criminal charges “criminal arrests,” even though the individuals were never found guilty. Further, the charges are frequently minor and regularly dismissed.
For example, the feds’ recent statement about the San Antonio raid asserted that 25 of the people detained had a “record of criminal history within the United States” without indicating whether any of those people had ever been convicted.
Even though the Alamo City raid took place 10 days ago, DHS officials haven’t responded to the Current’s requests to clarify the numbers or even state whether any of those detained now face criminal charges. Immigration experts told the Current that those caught up in the sweep are likely to be deported even though they have no criminal records and won’t face charges.
“ICE is depriving these people of due process by arresting them prior to a conviction,” Bier wrote of individuals the feds have labeled as criminals despite never being convicted.
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