New report reveals less than 14% of ICE detainees under Trump administration had violent criminal records

Questions like “What is actually the intention?” have started flying after a report found that less than 14% of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents didn’t have violent criminal records, CBS News reports.

An internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document turned external highlighted that of the approximately 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE during President Donald Trump’s second administration, fewer than 14% had convictions or even charges for violent crimes. The new information undermines ongoing celebrations of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, which Trump and others regularly label as the “worst of the worst,” focusing attention on rounding up dangerous and violent criminals living illegally in the US.

However, that does not seem to be the case.

ICE has seen a dramatic increase in arrests since the president returned to power. Nearly 60% faced violent criminal charges or convictions in the past year, but within that same population, a majority did not. Trump and administration aides often emphasize the goal of targeting murderers, rapists and “gangsters,” but the new data indicates that fewer than 2% of those detained by ICE have charges or convictions for murder or assault.

Another 2% of arrests were accused of being gang members.

In fact, nearly 40% of all detainees picked up by ICE during Trump’s first year had no criminal record at all, with some charged with civil immigration offenses such as living in the United States illegally or overstaying. The numbers support a December 2025 report showing that of the roughly 20,000 people arrested by ICE agents between Jan. 20 and Oct. 15, more than a third of them had no criminal record.

In cities across the US, ICE is under scrutiny for its arrest practices and the criminal charges that led to them. According to News 4 San AntonioOfficers traumatized Gonzalo Mejia Ortega’s family after raiding his home looking for him on charges of evading a traffic stop. “The man locked himself in his room, but they went after him there too,” said a woman who lives in the house.

Homeland Security officials claim Ortega had three previous arrests for domestic violence; however, the order concerned illegal reentry. A previous investigation uncovered a case of illegal reentry from 2011, but found no records of domestic violence arrests.

The differences and resistance appear to be trickling down to American voters. A poll showed that support for Trump’s deportation efforts fell to 46%, down from 59% at the start of his second term. Just over 60% of survey participants accuse officers of being ‘too tough’.

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