Noncriminal ICE arrests spiked in Louisiana in June
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of people in Louisiana with no criminal charges or convictions surged in June, per newly obtained data.
Why it matters: The numbers illustrate a major shift that came soon after the Trump administration tripled ICE's arrest quota.
Zoom in: The June 22 arrest of 64-year-old Mandonna "Donna" Kashanian, a Lakeview mom who was born in Iran, prompted a community outcry.
- Kashanian, who has since been released, was part of a national wave of arrests of people without criminal records.
Driving the news: People with no criminal charges or convictions made up 39% of ICE arrests in Louisiana in early June, which is up from 21% for the entire month of May, before the arrest quota increase.
How it works: That is according to agency data obtained by the UC Berkeley School of Law's Deportation Data Project through Freedom of Information Act requests, and is based on seven-day trailing averages.
The big picture: The increase in noncriminal ICE arrests came despite the Trump administration claiming to focus on criminals living in the country illegally.
- The spike also happened after the Trump administration told ICE to arrest at least 3,000 people daily, up from a previous quota of 1,000 people daily.
Context: Being in the U.S. illegally is a civil, not criminal, violation.