Immigration arrests have jumped 38%
In the 100 days since President Trump signed an executive order to strengthen immigration enforcement, arrests of undocumented immigrants are up 38% from the same period in 2016, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data released Wednesday.
ICE acting director Thomas Homan said his agency is focusing on undocumented immigrants with criminal records, the “bad hombres” Trump spoke about throughout his presidential campaign. But the data show that the biggest jump in arrests involved undocumented immigrants without a criminal record, a 156% increase from last year.
From Jan. 22 to April 29, ICE arrested 10,845 people whose immigration violations were the only marks on their record. That’s nearly triple the 4,242 people arrested during the same period in President Obama’s final year in office.
Of all the people arrested by ICE this year, nearly 75% had a criminal record. In Obama’s final year in office, 92% of people arrested by ICE in the country had a criminal record.
“I get asked a lot why we arrest somebody that’s not a criminal,” Homan said. “Those who do enter the country illegally, they do violate the law. That is a criminal act.”
Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a group that advocates for immigrants, said Trump’s public comments about going after the most dangerous immigrants were a diversion from his goal: mass deportations.
“If we don’t call it out and stand up to it, America is moving in the direction of committing a mistake of historic proportions — driving millions of immigrants who are deeply rooted in our country out of the country they now call home,” Sharry said.
ICE agents have been able to arrest more non-criminals after an executive order Trump signed Jan. 25 expanding the pool of undocumented immigrants considered “priorities” for deportation.
Under Obama, an undocumented immigrant had to be a gang member, convicted of a felony or convicted of several misdemeanors to be considered a deportation priority. Under Trump, undocumented immigrants simply have to be arrested for a crime — not convicted — to become a priority. Trump also allowed ICE agents to focus on undocumented immigrants who are considered a “risk to public safety or national security.”
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly further expanded the powers of ICE agents through new directives in February. Agents are now allowed to round up anybody they encounter and arrest the detainee if he is in the country illegally.
Homan emphasized that all undocumented immigrants will still receive their day in court and be able to fight against their removal.
ICE did see a drop in deportations. Homan said the agency removed 56,315 people from the U.S. in the 100-day period, a 12% drop from 2016.