Name: Number of non-criminal migrants detained by ICE soars, data shows
Uploaded: 2025-11-26T18:25:51.066Z
Duration: 2 min 49 s
Description: The number of non-criminal detainees arrested by ICE since January 2025 is up by more than 2000%, data shows. CBS News immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez has more details.

The number of non-criminal detainees arrested by ICE since January 2025 is up by more than 2000%, data shows. CBS News immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez has more details.

Washington

Recent data analyzed by CBS News indicates that the number of non-criminal migrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has surged since the start of the second Trump administration. As of November 16, ICE was detaining approximately 65,000 individuals, the highest figure reported since the agency's inception in 2003.

Of those detained, about 48 percent had no criminal charges or convictions and were held solely for civil immigration violations such as visa overstays or first-time unauthorized entry. The number of non-criminal detainees has increased by more than 2,000 percent since January, despite administration statements that enforcement would focus on individuals with serious criminal backgrounds.

Number of non-criminal migrants detained by ICE soars, data shows

You're getting a new data on immigration and customs enforcement. It shows that the number of immigrant detainees without criminal records has grown exponentially since the starts of the second Trump administration. CBS News immigration and politics reporter Camilo Montoya Galvez is joining us live right now. Camilo, thank you for your time today. Can you break down these latest statistics and how does it line up with the Trump administration's initial claim that it would only focus on the worst of the worst? Good morning, Mugo. The data that we analyzed does indeed illustrate the wide-ranging scope of the Trump administration's escalating crackdown on illegal immigration. As of November 16, for example, ICE was holding about 65,000 detainees across the country. That is the highest level ever reported by that agency created back in 2003 after the 9-11 terrorist attacks and about 48 percent of all those detainees, Mugo, did not have criminal charges or convictions in the U.S. Instead, they were being held solely because of civil immigration violations like overstaying a visa or entering the country without permission for the first-time offense, which is a federal misdemeanor but typically not prosecuted at the federal level. About 26 percent of the detainees did have criminal charges. Another 26 percent had criminal convictions, but the data does not specify the severity or the nature of the crimes listed for the people who are deemed to be people who have criminal convictions or charges. They could range from violent and serious felonies like murder to misdemeanor crimes and lower-level offenses, including immigration-related crimes like illegal re-entry into the U.S. Another major takeaway, Mugo, is that the data also shows that while every single category of ICE detainee groups in detention has grown significantly since January when the second Trump administration took office, the non-criminal group has grown exponentially and has seen the most acute and pronounced rise over the past year. In fact, non-criminal ICE detainees arrested by that agency, that number, Mugo, has grown by more than 2,000 percent since January. That is truly a remarkable number, and it again illustrates the fact that while the administration has repeatedly said that its mass deportation campaign will mainly focus on the worst of the worst, as they call them who are in the country illegally, the crackdown is certainly also leading to the arrest of many immigrants who, yes, may be in the country without proper documents, Mugo, but don't have any criminal history. Some very important context there. Camila Montoya-Galvez, thank you so much today.

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