Trump says he's deporting 'worst of the worst.' Data tells a different story | AP News “There’s a deep disconnect between the rhetoric and the reality,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-faculty director of the UCLA Law School’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy. “This administration, and also in the prior Trump administration, they consistently claim to be going after the worst of the worst and just talk about immigration enforcement as though it is all about going after violent, dangerous people with extensive criminal histories. And yet overwhelmingly, it’s people they’re targeting for arrest who have no criminal history of any kind.” The latest ICE statistics show that as of June 29, there were 57,861 people detained by ICE, 41,495 — 71.7% — of whom had no criminal convictions. That includes 14,318 people with pending criminal charges and 27,177 who are subject to immigration enforcement, but have no known criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. Each detainee is assigned a threat level by ICE on a scale of 1 to 3, with one being the highest. Those without a criminal record are classified as having “no ICE threat level.” As of June 23, the latest data available, 84% of people detained at 201 facilities nationwide were not given a threat level. Another 7% had been graded as a level 1 threat, 4% were level 2 and 5% were level 3. Nonpublic data obtained by the Cato Institute shows that as of June 14, 65% of the more than 204,000 people processed into the system by ICE since the start of fiscal year 2025, which began Oct. 1, 2024, had no criminal convictions. Of those with convictions, only 6.9% had committed a violent crime, while 53% had committed nonviolent crimes that fell into three main categories — immigration, traffic, or vice crimes.
I’m reminded of Prohibition’s failure and how modern immigration crackdowns, both legal and illegal, mirror the same mistakes. Prohibition was sold as a way to stop alcoholism and reduce crime, but the reality was very different. Instead of focusing on dangerous bootleggers or mob bosses, enforcement targeted everyday people such as bartenders, casual drinkers, and small-time brewers. The law criminalized ordinary folks, creating a massive gap between the stated goals and what actually happened. The same thing is happening with immigration crackdowns today. Politicians claim they are going after “the worst of the worst,” but ICE data tells a different story. Most people detained have no criminal history, and very few have committed violent crimes. It is like arresting bartenders instead of Capone all over again. Just like Prohibition, there is a moral disconnect. Most Americans did not see drinking as immoral, and many today do not view undocumented workers or visa overstayers as dangerous criminals. When the government punishes behavior the public sees as normal or even beneficial, it erodes trust in law enforcement. Over-criminalization also breeds unintended consequences. Prohibition fueled organized crime and corruption, while immigration crackdowns push people into the shadows, make communities less safe, and feed profits to private detention centers. The pattern is clear. Both Prohibition and today’s immigration enforcement are more about political optics, creating the appearance of being “tough,” rather than actually protecting the public. And just like Prohibition, this approach is bound to fail. It is extremely expensive, costing taxpayers over $150 billion, while clashing with public morality, treating low-risk people as high-risk threats, and causing more harm than good. Policies driven by political optics (or worse) instead of real results simply cannot solve illegal immigration or achieve public safety.
100% of illegals have committed a crime of entering the USA illegally (or staying past their legal time limit). Obviously for security purposes, a country needs to know who is entering... otherwise you could have a scenario where 13,000 individuals convicted of homicide are roaming free in the country. Oh wait, that already happened! https://www.nbcnews.com/investigati...homicide-living-freely-us-ice-data-rcna173125 Liberals -- big hearts, small minds, and really bad policies. GOOD DAY
Hmm, that health care seems like a pretty low price to pay for the cheaper fruits, vegetables, meats, restaurant bills, hotel bills, apartments and homes that citizens get from exploitation of illegal immigrant labor.
We are seeing before our eyes the new US police state of government, in using the National Guard and Military troops along with masked, ICE agents, or ICE agents in plain clothes surveiling and arresting anyone they "assume" is illegal. Trump always did want his own Gestapo police / SS police like Hitler had. He's inserting more and more brown shirts into his administration, and firing anyone who dares to question his orders or call him out, whether it be ethics or legal concerns. Even those who are simply reporting the facts or their opinions, and not just echoing Trump's version, or praising him are now targets of retribution. If you don't Heil Trump 100% you now can become a target of retribution, getting sued, threatened with deportation, or threatened with no government aid or funding.
Do you morons think anyone is against deporting criminals. Why do you folks keep trying to gas light people by posting stories of criminals. Obama depoted million and so did biden Why dont you post stories of ICE jailing US citizens ? Why do you cultists gaslight 24/7
The purpose is to show the consequences of Biden intentionally leaving the border open. He knowingly brought this sh*t here.
Yours is one of the worst arguments I have ever heard. Here is what you fail to grasp: If you have a wide open border, like Biden, AND provide health care to illegal aliens, two things will happen: 1) The health care system will be overwhelmed; and 2) You are providing a RICH INCENTIVE for millions of illegals to pour into our country to take advantage of the free health care. Liberals are seemingly incapable of thinking about steps 2, 3, 4 of what their policy will bring. They are stuck on step 1, which lacks vision and proper foresight. Good policy requires understanding the future impact of a policy action. Wide open border + Free health care is an obvious mistake and a financial calamity waiting to happen. Fortunately Trump has stopped illegal immigration in its tracks -- saving our country's entire health care system. GOOD DAY
Delusional. Biden deported a higher % of asylum seekers than Trump during his first term. The issue is the asylum laws were being abused. Nobody left the border open https://www.cato.org/blog/new-data-show-migrants-were-more-likely-be-released-trump-biden I wonder how many of you cultists realize most Latin American countries already have free Healthcare. People come into this country for the job market. The federal government wasn't giving away any Healthcare to migrants to begin with Man yall are so utterly stupid that it blows my mind.
oh that’s cute. In the broader analysis of the economic cost versus benefits of illegal immigrants, health care is one of many many costs. And when you add up all those many costs, they are still outweighed by benefit of exploiting cheap labor of illegal immigrants, which is passed on to everyone through lower prices. Congratulations, you failed basic math and economics. I hope your ability to find a good French wine is better. If not, maybe your local Total Wine guy can help you out or I’ll make a recommendation for you.
This is not a meaningful metric in any sense and also has no relevance to what i said. You are not going to be able to gaslight anyone into thinking Biden didnt intentionally leave the border wide open.
WTF is wrong with people that only live on fear, get out and meet people, these immigrants are not the problem, it is the billionaires that are stealing from you and telling you they are the problem that are the real issue. Wake the hell up....or Shut the **** up, either works fine. Universal healthcare for all is coming, and the sooner the better....so you racists can find something else to b**** about. Bunch of whiny assed babies...the right is all they do is b**** and moan and complain. DD
ICE was created out of 911 and has a very important mission, but it is overstepping due to poor (almost non-existing) Congressional oversight and leadership. When they start going after American citizens, tourists, and legal residents, they stray from their primary mission of safeguarding the US against illegal immigrants who pose a national security risk. Americans, of course, do not support such actions and will only tolerate this kind of overreach for so long. The new bill directly allocates $30 billion to hire new agents, with a goal of adding 10k new ICE officials. But I wonder how many “brown shirt” types the agency will attract. ICE is facing a moral problem. It not only struggles to attract good enforcement officers (good moral/ethics) but is also losing them. Eventually, it will have to lower its standards, and without strong moral leadership, that could spell more trouble for Americans, legal residents, and non-violent undocumented individuals. If they end up hiring a bunch of no-good enforcers, and if oversight remains lax while leadership stays poor, or even dangerous to Americans, this could resemble Prohibition, when the public eventually had enough and pushed back. My guess? Out of desperation and a top-down obsesion with raw numbers (arrests and deportations), quality will continue to degrade, creating even bigger problems ahead. It’s bound to fail. Solving illegal immigration requires strong moral leadership, not political optics.
