LoginDo most people arrested by ICE have a criminal conviction?
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No.
Most people taken into custody by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not have a criminal conviction, recent reports show.
PolitiFact reported Jan. 23 that as of Jan. 7, 74% of immigrants being held in detention did not have a criminal conviction.
The libertarian Cato Institute, saying it received leaked ICE data, reported in September that over the previous year, 73% taken into ICE custody had no criminal conviction; 8% had a violent or property conviction.
In late September, the number of people in immigration detention who had no criminal record outnumbered those convicted of crimes, The Guardian reported, citing ICE data.
ICE data for fiscal 2026, through Nov. 15, showed 72% of booked detainees did not have a criminal conviction.
Under 30% of people arrested in crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and across Massachusetts had a criminal conviction, The New York Times reported in December.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- PolitiFact: Do 70% of immigrant detainees have criminal convictions or charges? Fact-checking Kristi Noem
- Cato Institute: 5% of People Detained By ICE Have Violent Convictions, 73% No Convictions
- The Guardian: Immigrants with no criminal record now largest group in Ice detention
- Cato Institute: FY2026 YTD ICE Book-ins
- New York Times: Most Immigrants Arrested in City Crackdowns Have No Criminal Record
- Stateline: An ever-larger share of ICEβs arrested immigrants have no criminal record
Do most people arrested by ICE have a criminal conviction? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
