An analysis of government data by ABC News revealed that just 3% of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the first 14 months of President Donald Trump's second term had criminal records for violent crimes in the United States.

The findings contrast with the narrative promoted by the Trump administration, which has defended its immigration strategy under the promise of persecuting immigrants considered the “worst of the worst.”

According to the analysis, prepared from information obtained through requests for access to public information and data provided by ICE to the Deportation Data Project and the Center for Human Rights at the University of Washington, between January 20, 2025 and March 11, 2026, 438,537 people were detained. Of them, 13,018 had a history of homicide, sexual assault, robbery or assault, categories used to define violent crimes.

Arrests reach record levels

Data shows that the population in federal immigration custody is currently around 60,000 people, a record number that far exceeds the maximum recorded during the Biden administration.

However, the study concludes that the increase in arrests has not translated into a greater proportion of people with violent records.

Additionally, the analysis indicates that the application of immigration laws has impacted more than 400,000 people with no history of violent crimes, including fathers, mothers and spouses of US citizens.

Thousands of families have been affected

The aforementioned media found that, during the first eight months of 2025, ICE detained the parents of approximately 14,450 children born in the United States. More than 7,000 of those parents were later deported.

Likewise, during that same period, 4,843 spouses of US citizens were detained, of which more than 2,000 were expelled from the country.

Andrea Flores, former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official and founder of Securing America’s Promise, warned about the social consequences of these policies.

“We are going to have a generation of children who will lose their parents under this administration,” he said.

DHS rejects findings

The DHS rejected the interpretation of the data and assured that the Trump administration is fulfilling its promise to deport immigrants with criminal records.

“We continue to pursue the worst criminals, including gang members, pedophiles and rapists,” a DHS spokesperson told the outlet.

However, the data analyzed show that the vast majority of people detained by ICE during the period studied had no history of violent crimes.