Chicago According to a senior Trump administration official, immigration officials made roughly 1,200 arrests on a single day, and almost half of those held have no criminal history.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended 1,179 people on Sunday, more than the 956 the agency put on Xon Sunday night, according to data first acquired by NBC News. However, just 613 arrests—nearly 52% of the total—were classified as criminal arrests. The remaining individuals seem to be either non-violent criminals or those who have only crossed the border.
Eight of those arrests, including two gang members, were deemed “Worst Criminals Arrested,” the official said when breaking down those arrests.
Nevertheless, at least 566 individuals who were arrested on Sunday were only detained because they lacked the legal right to be in the United States and had not committed any crimes.
Being undocumented is a civil violation rather than a felony. However, it is illegal for an undocumented immigrant who has been deported to return to the United States without authorization. Of the 566, it’s unknown how many, if any, had entered the nation illegally twice.
President Donald Trump and his administration officials have frequently said that they will prioritize detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed severe crimes, but the most recent statistics may be calling into question such pledges.
On Sunday, Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told NBC News that he knew of “at least a few” collateral arrests and detentions of individuals who were present during the raids but had no criminal histories. According to him, this will probably occur frequently as immigration enforcement measures continue to intensify nationwide.
“We want to get as many criminals as possible,” Homan stated. “They re a public safety threat and so with somebody else illegally here, they re coming too.”
853 “detainers lodged,” or people who were arrested on various criminal offenses on Sunday but for whom ICE may have reasonable suspicion that they could be deported, were listed in the most recent ICE arrests statistics.
A local jurisdiction is asked to hold a suspected undocumented immigrant who has previously been arrested for another offense when ICE issues a detainer request. ICE may have good reason to suspect that the migrant may face deportation. Local governments in so-called sanctuary communities do not respond to requests for detainers.
Nicole Acevedo reported from New York, while Gabe Gutierrez reported from Chicago.