ICE arrests soar for noncriminal immigrants
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ICE arrests of people without criminal charges or convictions have soared in Michigan and nationwide, per data compiled by the Deportation Data Project at the UC Berkeley School of Law.
Why it matters: The surge came after the Trump administration tripled U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's arrest quota, and marks a major shift from the president's pledge to target the "worst of the worst."
By the numbers: In January, ICE arrested 85 people in Michigan, of whom 19% had no criminal charge, an Axios analysis found.
- In June, 48% of the 304 people ICE arrested in the state had no criminal charge.
What they're saying: "ICE has the authority to arrest immigrants who are suspected of violating immigration laws, regardless of criminal history," writes Austin Kocher, research assistant professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and immigration expert, in an analysis of the new data.
- "Nevertheless, the administration has gone to great lengths in the press and on social media to emphasize the criminality of people they are arresting. Both things can be true, of course. ICE can arrest some people with violent criminal histories and a lot of people without criminal histories."
The big picture: Nationally, 47% of daily ICE arrests in early June were people without criminal charges or convictions — up from about 21% a month prior, according to Deportation Data Project figures.
Go deeper: Noncriminal ICE arrests spiked in June