Surge in non-criminal immigration arrests marks Trump’s second term, data shows

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dramatically increased the arrest and detention of immigrants without criminal records since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, according to new analysis by The Guardian and made public on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

This shift sharply contradicts the administration’s repeated claims that its deportation efforts are focused solely on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal histories.

Using data compiled by ICE and the Vera Institute of Justice, the analysis reveals that since Trump’s return to office in January, there has been a major uptick in immigration arrests.

This is especially of individuals with no criminal charges.

Although those with pending charges have also seen an increase in detentions, the most striking growth has been among undocumented immigrants with clean records.

Between early January, just before the inauguration, and June, arrests of immigrants with no criminal history skyrocketed by 807%.

This rise undermines the administration’s public messaging.

Despite assertions from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and top White House officials that ICE is focused on “criminal illegal aliens,” the numbers suggest otherwise.

Simply being undocumented, a civil infraction, not a criminal offense, is now the basis for a growing share of arrests.

Austin Kocher, an assistant research professor at Syracuse University, noted that ICE’s recent actions represent a stark departure from prior enforcement practices.

“The group of people arrested with only immigration violations used to be very, very small,” he said.

“The data shows ICE is increasingly arresting people without any criminal history.

“This doesn’t align with the agency’s public statements that they’re prioritizing hardened criminals.”

While ICE continues to detain individuals with criminal records, detailed information about the nature of those offenses remains undisclosed.

Data from October 2022 to November 2024 shows that 78% of those arrested had either minor offenses or no convictions at all.

Only 21% had felony convictions. For the current year, the administration has not released comprehensive crime-based breakdowns of arrestees.

The increase in non-criminal arrests appears to follow a late-May directive from senior Trump administration officials.

According to insider reports, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pressured ICE leadership during a meeting.

They instructed the agency to dramatically boost arrest numbers—setting a target of 3,000 arrests per day, equating to over 1 million annually.

In response to these demands, ICE officers were instructed by top managers to “turn the creative knob up to 11,” according to internal communications obtained by The Guardian.

This included targeting “collaterals”, individuals who were not the subject of a specific warrant but happened to be present during enforcement operations.

This represents a shift from traditional ICE tactics, which previously focused on individuals with outstanding warrants or pending deportation orders.

In addition to ramping up arrests, the Trump administration has expanded the pool of personnel conducting immigration enforcement.

Federal agents from agencies such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Homeland Security Investigations have been reassigned to immigration duties.

The number of local jurisdictions working in partnership with ICE has also grown, allowing for increased local enforcement under federal authority.

The surge in enforcement has led to a record number of immigrants being held in detention centers.

As of June 1, 51,302 individuals were detained in ICE facilities, the highest figure since 2019. Kocher, who monitors these statistics, warned that the rapid expansion has overwhelmed facilities and created dire conditions.

“These centers are overcrowded and operating beyond their capacity,” he said.

“People are sleeping on floors, receiving inadequate food, and in many cases, are denied proper medical attention.”

In a statement to The Guardian, DHS claimed that since Trump’s second inauguration, more than 236,000 undocumented immigrants had been arrested and over 207,000 deported.

However, the agency’s own published data indicates only 186,000 people have been newly booked into detention facilities since October.

DHS declined to explain the discrepancy.

Kocher criticized the administration for manipulating data: “They are not being transparent.

“They’re using new counting methods to make the numbers fit their political narrative.”

One of the most alarming developments for immigration advocates is ICE’s increasing presence at immigration courts.

Asylum seekers attending hearings are being detained by agents waiting outside or in courthouse lobbies, sometimes immediately after their cases are dismissed.

Last week, Innovation Law Lab, a legal organization defending immigrant rights, filed a lawsuit in Oregon seeking to block ICE from continuing courthouse arrests.

It called the practice unconstitutional and harmful to due process.

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