CHICAGO — According to a senior Trump administration official, immigration officers arrested roughly 1,200 people in a single day, with nearly half of those apprehended having no criminal background.
According to data obtained by NBC News, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 1,179 persons on Sunday, above the 956 arrests recorded on X on Sunday night. However, just 613 of those total arrests—nearly 52%—were designated “criminal arrests.” The rest appear to be nonviolent criminals or persons who have only crossed the border illegally.
According to the source, eight of those arrests were classified as the “worst criminals arrested,” including two gang members.
Nonetheless, at least 566 persons arrested on Sunday had committed no crimes and were detained only because they lacked legal authorization to remain in the United States.
Being undocumented is classified as a civil offense, not a crime. However, if an illegal immigrant who has previously been deported returns to the United States without permission, it is considered a crime. It is unclear how many, if any, of the 566 had unlawfully re-entered the nation.
President Donald Trump has pledged to prioritize detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed severe crimes. However, recent data may call this into question.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told NBC News on Sunday that he was aware of “at least a few” collateral arrests, which were detentions of persons who had no criminal histories and were present during the raids. He predicted that this will occur again as immigration enforcement activities across the country become more severe.
“We want to get as many criminals as possible,” Homan told reporters. “They’re a public safety threat, and so with somebody else illegally here, they’re coming, too.”
According to the most recent ICE arrest data, there were 853 “detainers lodged,” or persons who were arrested on other criminal offenses Sunday but ICE believes they may be deported.
A detainer request is when ICE requests a local jurisdiction to hold a suspected undocumented immigrant who has previously been arrested for another offense. ICE may have probable reason to suspect the migrant is up for deportation. So-called sanctuary cities do not act on detainer requests.
