Most Dallas ICE detainees didn't have convictions, DMN reports
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Dallas ICE agents arrested more than 12,000 people last year, and the majority of the detainees did not have a prior criminal conviction, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Why it matters: The data suggests that the Trump administration is not prioritizing deporting the "worst of the worst," as it has said multiple times.
- The report echoes findings from an Axios analysis last summer of ICE arrests during the first five months of President Trump's second term.
The big picture: The Dallas ICE field office, which includes North Texas and Oklahoma, averages about 100 arrests per day — the second-highest in the country, NBC 5 reported last week.
Friction point: The Department of Homeland Security tells the DMN that 70% of people arrested by ICE have been charged or convicted of a crime.
- But 62% of people arrested by the Dallas office between Jan. 20 and Oct. 16, 2025, had not been convicted of crimes, per the DMN. Meanwhile, the share of arrests of immigrants with previous convictions during that same time period declined from 56% in 2024 to 38% in 2025.
- And, the newspaper reports, those convictions are less likely in 2025 to be for violent crimes.
What they did: The DMN examined ICE arrests and involuntary deportation data for the country and ICE Dallas' coverage area.
- Using similar date ranges, the newspaper analyzed ICE arrests and deportations in President Biden's term and Trump's second term.
What they found: Dallas ICE agents arrested about 12,100 people between Jan. 20 and Oct. 16, 2025, a 108% percent increase compared to 2024, the DMN reports.
- Arrests overseen by the office showed a larger shift toward immigrants without criminal convictions, from 44% in 2024 to 62% in the first nine months of President Trump's second term.
- Involuntary deportations increased by 94% between 2024 and 2025 for the number of people with no criminal convictions, per the DMN's analysis.
Zoom in: Brian Ernesto Villalta-Ramos of El Salvador filed for asylum after arriving in Dallas in 2024, the DMN reports.
- He was detained in October while attending a scheduled appointment at the Dallas ICE office and remains in custody at a Georgia detention center, per the DMN.
What they're saying: ICE officials did not respond to Axios' requests for comment on the DMN story.