As Immigration and Customs Enforcement has expanded operations in major cities, right-wing media have falsely claimed their enforcement actions are focused on apprehending “the worst of the worst” criminal migrants.

These arguments stand in direct contradiction with data showing many of those arrested by ICE “had no criminal record” or “were being held solely because of civil violations of U.S. immigration law.” Additionally, there have been numerous documented arrests of legal residents and U.S. citizens. The claims also contradict statements made by administration officials previewing “collateral arrests” of migrants without criminal records and families being “deported together.”

• Data shows that a majority of those arrested in recent major ICE operations “had no criminal record,” and many detainees “were being held solely because of civil violations of U.S. immigration law”

• • CBS reported in November that ICE data shows “the number of immigration detainees without criminal records who are held in federal detention centers after getting arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increased by over 2,000% since the start of the second Trump administration.” According to CBS, “The official figures indicate that 30,986 — or 48% — of the ICE detainees in custody as of Nov. 16 lacked any criminal charges or convictions in the U.S. and were being held solely because of civil violations of U.S. immigration law.” Notably, “The statistics released by ICE do not...

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