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.
