Immigration Arrests: Who's Really Getting Caught?

In recent times, immigration enforcement has been ramped up in major cities. The goal? To catch immigrants with criminal records. But the results are surprising. More than half of those arrested in these high-profile operations had no criminal history at all. That's compared to about a third nationwide. These operations have caused a lot of disruption. They've also sparked protests and criticism. Local leaders argue that these actions haven't made their cities safer. In fact, less than 30% of those arrested had any criminal convictions. And only a tiny fraction had been convicted of violent crimes. Most non-violent convictions were for things like driving under the influence. The data comes from a lawsuit and was analyzed by a research project. It covers every immigration arrest and detention up to mid-October. The analysis focused on periods of intense federal operations. However, it's not clear if all Border Patrol arrests were included. Nationwide, the share of immigrants with criminal convictions arrested by ICE has dropped. It went from 46% at the start of the term to 28% in mid-October. Meanwhile, arrests of people with past violent convictions have also decreased. Historically, ICE worked with local law enforcement to arrest immigrants after they served their sentences. But under the current administration, ICE arrests have increased. The biggest rise has been in arrests outside of these programs. In some states and Washington, D. C. , most of those detained had no criminal record. People have been arrested in raids, at checkpoints, and even outside schools. In September, when operations started in Massachusetts and Chicago, arrests of people without a criminal history jumped. This was after the Supreme Court allowed immigration officers to use race and ethnicity in street stops. Officials have given these operations catchy names and posted videos of raids. They claim to be targeting dangerous criminals. But the data tells a different story. In Illinois, only 54 people with violent convictions were arrested. Meanwhile, 78 had past convictions for traffic offenses. In Washington, D. C. , ICE arrested just 10 people with violent convictions. This was during a month when local police were cooperating with ICE. The data raises questions about the effectiveness of these operations. Are they really targeting the worst criminals? Or are they casting too wide a net?