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A new report from the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley sheds light on one of the most controversial questions in U.S. immigration policy: who is actually being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the rhetoric of “dangerous criminals”?
The response, according to the data, openly contradicts the arguments that have justified the most aggressive immigration raids in recent months.
Nearly 75,000 migrants with no criminal record arrested
Between January 20 and October 15 of this year, ICE arrested nearly 220,000 people.
Of that total, more than a third -approximately 75,000 individuals- had no criminal record whatsoever.
The report and analysts agree that this figure does not align with the official discourse, which promised to focus ICE's efforts on capturing only “murderers, rapists, and gang members.”
“This contradicts what the administration has been saying about individuals who are convicted criminals and who are targeting the worst of the worst”, denounced Ariel Ruiz Soto, principal policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, in statements recorded by NBC Miami.
The data was obtained following a lawsuit filed by the Deportation Data Project team against ICE itself, and is managed by an internal office that collects information on arrests, detentions, and deportations.
Since January, the administration has stopped regularly publishing this data.
Who is ICE really detaining?
The report reveals that the vast majority of individuals arrested by ICE until mid-October have been men (90%), mostly young men: more than 60% are between 25 and 45 years old.
The arrests have primarily focused on citizens from Mexico (85,000), Guatemala (31,000), and Honduras (24,000).
Regarding the criminal profile, the report does not specify whether individuals with criminal records had committed minor offenses or serious crimes such as murder or rape.
This hinders the assessment of the severity of the backgrounds among those who did have them.
On the other hand, approximately 22,959 people fall into the category of "voluntary departure," meaning they left the country on their own accord without being formally deported.
A strategy driven from the White House
The increase in arrests has been accompanied by intense pressure from the Trump administration.
In May, Stephen Miller, then Deputy Chief of Staff, threatened to dismiss senior ICE officials if they did not meet a target of 3,000 arrests per day.
However, the numbers indicate that this goal was far from being achieved.
Between January and October, ICE agents made an average of 824 arrests per day, a figure considerably below the imposed target, although more than double the daily average recorded during the Biden administration in 2024, when 312 people were arrested daily.
The black box of the Border Patrol
A significant part of current migration control occurs in the shadows.
Although ICE has been the focus of the analysis, the arrests made by the Border Patrol were not included in the report.
This represents a serious information gap, especially considering that this agency has launched aggressive immigration operations in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Charlotte (North Carolina), and New Orleans.
"That is the black box about which we know nothing," warned Ariel Ruiz Soto.
"How many arrests is the Border Patrol making? How many of these result in deportations, and under what conditions?" questioned Rui Soto.
Although both ICE and the Border Patrol fall under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), their functions and areas of operation differ.
Traditionally, border agents operate in border areas, but hundreds of them have been sent into the interior of the country to track down undocumented immigrants.
Impact on the economy and employment
The consequences of these operations extend beyond the legal or migratory spheres.
The report also highlights concerns from the business sector, where the lack of migrant labor is starting to take its toll.
"Now we are really feeling that pain in the workforce," warned George Carrillo, executive director of the Hispanic Construction Council.
Carrillo acknowledged the government's right to control borders, but pointed out that the current strategy is impacting the stability of multiple industries that rely on migrant labor.
"Even the most conservative Republicans are noticing this and understanding that something needs to be done differently because it is now affecting their businesses. And they are worried about this strategy," he concluded.
In conclusion, the recent report from the Deportation Data Project has revealed the deep disconnect between the official narrative and the operational reality of ICE in the United States.
Far from focusing exclusively on dangerous criminals, the agency has arrested tens of thousands of migrants with no criminal records, while public information regarding these actions has become increasingly scarce.
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