A growing proportion of immigrants arrested by ICE have no criminal record

In October, there were 105 immigrant arrests at a horse racetrack in Wilder, Idaho. This year, through mid-October, Idaho saw one of the nation’s largest increases in immigration arrests compared to the same period during the Biden administration. (Photo courtesy of the ACLU of Idaho)

Immigration arrests under Trump continued to rise through mid-October, reaching more than 30,000 per month. But instead of convicted criminals, who the administration says it is focusing on, an increasing proportion of arrests have been solely for immigration violations.

In 45 states, immigration arrests have more than doubled compared to the same period last year under the Biden administration. The biggest boost: The District of Columbia saw 1,190 arrests compared to just seven last year under Biden. Arrests were also more than five times higher in New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon and Virginia.

“The result flies in the face of the administration’s goal of arresting the ‘worst of the worst,'” said Ariel Ruiz Soto, senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Increased enforcement will likely boost the number of “collateral” arrests of people found while searching for convicted criminals, he said.

The comparisons between the Trump and Biden administrations were calculated by Stateline in an analysis of data released by the Deportation Data Project, research initiative by the universities of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles. Approximately 93% of arrests could be identified by state.

While more people have been arrested this year, a lower percentage are convicted felons.

The percentage of immigrants arrested for violent crimes dropped from 9% in January to less than 5% in October. During the same period in 2024, Biden’s share remained steady at 10% to 11%.

The same trend applies to people arrested solely for immigration violations: Immigration violations alone accounted for 20% of arrests in April, which increased to 44% of arrests in October, according to Stateline’s analysis.

In some states and the District of Columbia, the majority of arrests were solely for immigration violations: District of Columbia (80%), New York (61%), Virginia (57%), Illinois (53%), West Virginia (51%), and Maryland (50%).

This year, the most arrests were also reported in states with enormous immigrant populations. The largest numerical increases occurred in Texas (up 29,403, a three-fold boost from last year), Florida (up 14,693, a four-fold boost) and California (up 13,345, a four-fold boost).

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The two states that saw the biggest increases in arrests reacted very differently to President Donald Trump’s deportation mission.

“We will resist like all Democratic states,” Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in an interview with The Santa Fe New Mexican after last year’s election, referring to plans for mass deportations. She has proposed legislation to ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the state. The legislation failed this year, but Lujan Grisham urged the state Legislature to reconsider it next year. The state has three privately owned ICE detention centers that can hold 2,000 people.

Idaho Republican Governor Brad Little Helps ICE Under 287(g) agreement carrying what his office calls “highly dangerous illegal foreign criminals” from county jails to federal custody. The 53 men featured on the governor’s website face charges ranging from drug possession to sexual assault.

In a press release, the office states that the program is to cover people “after serving their sentences” in October review by the Idaho Capital Sun. found that some were transferred despite charges being dismissed or still pending.

Nationwide, arrests have increased this year from about 17,000 in February, the first full month of President Donald Trump’s term, to more than 30,000 in September and October. The percentage of convicted felons has dropped from 46% to 30%, although the number of convicted felons arrested each month is still higher than under President Joe Biden.

Some of the policies that have contributed to the rise in arrests are facing recent court battles. This month, a federal judge blocked the administration from making immigration arrests in the District of Columbia without a warrant and probable cause.

In August, A federal court blocked the administration’s expansion of expedited deportation options, which itself allows for quick deportations without judicial review. The administration appealed, arguing that immigrants who have been in the country for less than two years without legal authorization are not guaranteed due process.

According to A., 2.5 million people could be subjected to such quick deportations Estimates of the Migration Policy Institute published in September, including 1 million people released at the Mexican border on court dates and 1.5 million people under ephemeral protection such as parole on humanitarian grounds.

This fall, the percentage of immigrant arrests with convictions continued to decline just before and during the federal government shutdown, including only 3% of those arrested and detained He had convictions from Sept. 21 to Nov. 16, according to national information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a records research organization at Syracuse University.

“While ICE is detaining more people, its focus on people without criminal convictions has shifted dramatically,” he added. TRAC report excellent.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify a reference to October apprehension statistics analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at: thenderson@stateline.org.