ICE Agents Under Trump Have Arrested Nearly 75,000 People with No Criminal Records, Data Reveals
Nearly one-third of people arrested by immigration agents during Trump's second administration have no criminal record, according to a new report
By Meredith Kile/People Published on December 8, 2025 12:25PM EST
ICE Agents Under Trump Have Arrested Nearly 75,000 People with No Criminal Records, Data Reveals
Nearly one-third of people arrested by immigration agents during Trump's second administration have no criminal record, according to a new report
By Meredith Kile Published on December 8, 2025 12:25PM EST
NEED TO KNOW
New data shows that nearly 75,000 people arrested by ICE between January and October had no criminal record
Despite President Trump's insistence that increased immigration raids during his second term have been focused on deporting violent offenders, nearly one-third had no criminal history at all
The ICE data doesn't account for arrests by Border Patrol, which Trump has used to raid cities like Chicago and Los Angeles in recent months.
Despite President Donald Trump's claims that federal immigration agents are working to rid the United States of dangerous criminals, new data shows that almost 75,000 people arrested by ICE in his first nine months had no criminal record.
The University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project recently obtained data on nearly 220,000 people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement between Jan. 20 — the day Trump took office for his second term — and Oct. 15, 2025.
That data, which was compiled by an internal ICE office and made public in a lawsuit filed against the agency, showed that almost one-third of those arrested in that timeframe had no criminal record. For those who had been convicted in the past, the data doesn't distinguish between minor offenses and violent crimes.
"It contradicts what the administration has been saying about people who are convicted criminals and that they are going after the worst of the worst," Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told NBC News.
Notably, the data does not include information on arrests made by other agencies like Border Patrol, which has also been dispatched to Trump-targeted cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and Detroit during his second administration to ramp up immigration operations.
ICE and Border Patrol are both overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, but are two separate agencies.
“That is the black box that we know nothing about,” Ruiz Soto said. “How many arrests is Border Patrol doing? How many of those are leading to removals and under what conditions?”
Last week, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted to X about how she and Trump, 79, were working to kick out "killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
"Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom—not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE," Noem, 54, wrote.
The push for increased ICE arrests has come directly from the Trump administration. In May, NBC News reported that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller threatened to fire ICE officials who didn't detain 3,000 migrants a day. Miller also reportedly threatened the job security of field offices that fell in the bottom 10% of monthly arrest numbers.
Federal law enforcement officials who spoke with the outlet also said the Trump administration's focus on immigration cases was pulling time and resources from other law enforcement priorities.
“There is such a priority on making immigration arrests that it takes longer to get answers on anything else. Something that used to be resolved in a matter of days now takes weeks,” a law enforcement official told NBC.
Last month, President Trump said in an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell that he approved of ICE agents sometimes using violent tactics during raids, "because you have to get the people out."
"I think they haven't gone far enough," he added, saying of the targets, "Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were thrown out of their countries because they were, you know, criminals."
Trump has frequently said that his administration would "work with" deported immigrants who wish to return to the country legally. However, last week, several immigrants in Boston preparing to become U.S. citizens were reportedly pulled out of line just before their oath ceremony, based on their country of origin falling on a Trump-restricted list.
WGBH, a National Public Radio member station, reported that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials approached hopeful citizens — who had already completed the lengthy citizenship process, been approved to be naturalized, and were preparing to pledge their allegiance to the United States — and told them they could not continue the process.
In a statement to NBC News, a DHS spokesperson responded to the report by saying that the Trump administration is “making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best.”
“Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” the DHS spokesperson added. “We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake.”
By Meredith Kile/People Published on December 8, 2025 12:25PM EST
ICE Agents Under Trump Have Arrested Nearly 75,000 People with No Criminal Records, Data Reveals
Nearly one-third of people arrested by immigration agents during Trump's second administration have no criminal record, according to a new report
By Meredith Kile Published on December 8, 2025 12:25PM EST
NEED TO KNOW
New data shows that nearly 75,000 people arrested by ICE between January and October had no criminal record
Despite President Trump's insistence that increased immigration raids during his second term have been focused on deporting violent offenders, nearly one-third had no criminal history at all
The ICE data doesn't account for arrests by Border Patrol, which Trump has used to raid cities like Chicago and Los Angeles in recent months.
Despite President Donald Trump's claims that federal immigration agents are working to rid the United States of dangerous criminals, new data shows that almost 75,000 people arrested by ICE in his first nine months had no criminal record.
The University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project recently obtained data on nearly 220,000 people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement between Jan. 20 — the day Trump took office for his second term — and Oct. 15, 2025.
That data, which was compiled by an internal ICE office and made public in a lawsuit filed against the agency, showed that almost one-third of those arrested in that timeframe had no criminal record. For those who had been convicted in the past, the data doesn't distinguish between minor offenses and violent crimes.
"It contradicts what the administration has been saying about people who are convicted criminals and that they are going after the worst of the worst," Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told NBC News.
Notably, the data does not include information on arrests made by other agencies like Border Patrol, which has also been dispatched to Trump-targeted cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and Detroit during his second administration to ramp up immigration operations.
ICE and Border Patrol are both overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, but are two separate agencies.
“That is the black box that we know nothing about,” Ruiz Soto said. “How many arrests is Border Patrol doing? How many of those are leading to removals and under what conditions?”
Last week, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted to X about how she and Trump, 79, were working to kick out "killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
"Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom—not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE," Noem, 54, wrote.
The push for increased ICE arrests has come directly from the Trump administration. In May, NBC News reported that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller threatened to fire ICE officials who didn't detain 3,000 migrants a day. Miller also reportedly threatened the job security of field offices that fell in the bottom 10% of monthly arrest numbers.
Federal law enforcement officials who spoke with the outlet also said the Trump administration's focus on immigration cases was pulling time and resources from other law enforcement priorities.
“There is such a priority on making immigration arrests that it takes longer to get answers on anything else. Something that used to be resolved in a matter of days now takes weeks,” a law enforcement official told NBC.
Last month, President Trump said in an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell that he approved of ICE agents sometimes using violent tactics during raids, "because you have to get the people out."
"I think they haven't gone far enough," he added, saying of the targets, "Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were thrown out of their countries because they were, you know, criminals."
Trump has frequently said that his administration would "work with" deported immigrants who wish to return to the country legally. However, last week, several immigrants in Boston preparing to become U.S. citizens were reportedly pulled out of line just before their oath ceremony, based on their country of origin falling on a Trump-restricted list.
WGBH, a National Public Radio member station, reported that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials approached hopeful citizens — who had already completed the lengthy citizenship process, been approved to be naturalized, and were preparing to pledge their allegiance to the United States — and told them they could not continue the process.
In a statement to NBC News, a DHS spokesperson responded to the report by saying that the Trump administration is “making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best.”
“Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” the DHS spokesperson added. “We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake.”
