New figures drawn from government data indicate that the large majority of people detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months were not violent offenders. According to the analysis, only about 3 percent of those held by ICE over the first 14 months of the current administration had a violent felony conviction in the United States.
The data, compiled by the Deportation Data Project from records released by ICE, covers more than 400,000 people detained between the start of 2025 and early 2026. The overwhelming share of them had no violent criminal history, a finding that cuts against the description of enforcement focused on the most dangerous offenders.
The figures also point to a significant impact on families. The records show that thousands of spouses of US citizens were taken into custody, and that many of them were ultimately removed from the country. Advocates say these cases involve people with deep ties to their communities and no record of violence.
Children have been caught up in the enforcement as well. According to the analysis, thousands of US born children had at least one parent placed in immigration detention, and the parents of more than 7,000 children were eventually deported, separating households in which the children are American citizens.
One case highlighted is that of Orlean Carrasco, who entered the United States as an unaccompanied minor in 2013. His attorney says he was detained by immigration authorities at a courthouse in Tennessee after paying fees tied to a traffic ticket, then sent to a detention center in Louisiana despite having no removal order and no criminal convictions.
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on the conclusions. In a statement, it said it continues to target the most dangerous offenders, argued that everyone detained had committed a crime by entering the country illegally, and said it does not separate families, adding that parents are asked whether they want to be removed together with their children.
The findings have added urgency to efforts in Congress to change the system. A bill known as the Dignity Act, introduced in the House last year and still pending, would offer some undocumented immigrants a way to remain and work in the country without the constant threat of deportation, though for families like Carrasco's there is no immediate relief in sight.