Roughly 70% of illegal migrants arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the second Trump administration reportedly had been convicted of or faced charges for criminal offenses.
New data provided to the Washington Examiner shows the Trump administration arrested about 595,000 illegal immigrants between Jan. 20 and Dec. 11, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE said 70%, roughly 416,000, had "criminal convictions or pending criminal charges" in the United States, underscoring President Donald Trump's promise to prioritize the "worst of the worst" in immigration enforcement.
ICE officials stressed that even those without U.S. criminal records can still pose major public safety threats, the agency said, noting many are wanted abroad for violent crimes or have ties to gangs, terrorism, or other serious offenses.
"This statistic doesn't account for those wanted for violent crimes in their home country or another country, INTERPOL notices, human rights abusers, gang members, terrorists, etc. The list goes on," an ICE spokesperson told the Examiner.
ICE cited several examples.
One was Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla, arrested in the U.S. for driving without a license but was wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide, extortion, drug possession, and other felonies.
In another case, ICE arrested Akhror Bozorov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, who had no U.S. criminal record but was wanted in his home country for alleged involvement with a terrorist organization.
Despite those figures, Democrats and activist groups have continued to accuse ICE of unfairly targeting illegal migrants whose only offense is entering or remaining in the country unlawfully.
Trump officials argue that simply being present illegally — especially after ignoring immigration court orders — is not a victimless matter and often places additional burdens on law enforcement, schools, and taxpayers.
Trump previewed his immigration crackdown in his inaugural address, vowing to "begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."
Trump and Vice President JD Vance have estimated that between 500,000 and 1 million criminal illegal immigrants are currently in the U.S.
The administration also has pointed to a separate enforcement priority: Illegal migrants already ordered deported but still inside the country.
The Examiner cited estimates that roughly 1.5 million people had final deportation orders but had not yet been deported.
The report also explains why ICE's arrest numbers include some nonviolent offenders.
ICE frequently relies on state and local police arrests for leads, often during routine traffic stops, because the agency has only about 6,500 officers responsible for interior enforcement nationwide.
In jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with ICE detainers, the agency is forced to track targets in the community, increasing the likelihood of broader arrests.
ICE data showed that between February and April, roughly 75% of those arrested had criminal records.
By May, the share dipped to just over 67%, after ICE was directed to expand operations to courthouses and workplaces, including farms and retail hubs.
Meanwhile, Trump is preparing an even more aggressive crackdown in 2026, backed by a massive funding surge.
Under a spending package passed by the Republican-controlled Congress, ICE and Border Patrol are set to receive $170 billion in additional funds through September 2029, allowing the administration to hire thousands more agents, expand detention capacity, and increase workplace raids.
White House border czar Tom Homan has said arrest and deportation numbers will "explode greatly" next year — a signal the administration believes it has both the mandate and resources to restore border control after the chaos of the Biden years.
With crime, fentanyl trafficking, and public safety still top voter concerns, Trump's team is betting that removing illegal immigrants, especially those tied to criminal activity, will remain a winning issue, even as critics escalate political and legal pushback ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Reuters contributed to this report.