I’ve been reading articles about ICEs activities in U.S. cities, but I didn’t really see this question addressed, which I think is critical. If ICE is primarily arresting immigrants who pose a danger to society, or committed serious crimes, ICE apprehending these individuals and then moving to deport them seems entirely justified. The rhetoric of the Trump administration suggests this is precisely what they’re doing, but is it true? I’m going to share some of the information I found.

From the Cato Institute (right leaning/Libertarian)(11/24/2025): 5% of People Detained By ICE Have Violent Convictions, 73% No Convictions:

Of people booked into ICE custody this fiscal year (since October 1, 2025):

• Nearly three in four (73 percent) had no criminal conviction.
• Nearly half had no criminal conviction nor even any pending criminal charges.
• Only 8 percent had a violent or property criminal conviction.
• Only 5 percent had a violent criminal conviction.
• A majority of criminal convicts had vice, immigration, or traffic convictions.

From the NYT (12/4/2025), Most Immigrants Arrested in City Crackdowns Have No Criminal Record

(Note: Both article did not include analysis of arrests in Minnesota, New Orleans, or North Carolina, which began in early December 2025.)

Painting a completely different picture, but not featuring the data above, here are two articles from Rupert Murdoch outlets.

The New York Post (1/11/2026), Minnesota ICE operation continues, netting 10 killers, violent child rapists — but lefty pols want agents out:

“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are encouraging this behavior with their rhetoric of lawlessness, while their sanctuary policies continue to ensure that the worst of the worst criminal alien offenders flock to their state in a vain attempt to escape justice,” ICE wrote in a statement.

The agency — which sent over 2,000 officers to Minneapolis in the last week alone — also hit out at “violent rioters and agitators” for trying to protect such criminals by “interfering and obstructing” ICE operations.

The article goes on to mention 9 illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes. This is followed by a quote from VP Vance:

“Arresting and deporting these people is absolutely critical to national security. National Democrats are going to get our law enforcement killed if they don’t stop lying about this issue and the people working to keep us safe,” Vice President JD Vance said in a statement Saturday night.

The article mentions nothing about the percentage of illegal immigrants arrested who did not have any criminal record or conviction of a violent crime.

From Fox News website (1/10/2026), ICE arrests in Minnesota surge include numerous convicted child rapists, killers. Here’s a quote from an ICE Director Todd Lyons:

“Regardless of staged political theatrics, ICE is going to continue to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota and elsewhere,” ICE Director Todd M. Lyons wrote in a statement. “Some of these criminal aliens have had final orders of removal for 30 years, but they’ve been free to terrorize Minnesotans.”

“ICE’s arrests prevent recidivism and make communities safer, but it feels like local politicians want to ignore that part and drum up discontent rather than protect their own constituents,” he added.

The article goes on to show mugshot looking photos about 17 illegal immigrants–all people of color–who committed violent crimes.

Some comments

• If the data cited by the Cato Institute and NYT are correct, the Murdoch outlet articles seem irresponsible. Both create the impression, through the headlines, content, and photos that the ICE are primarily arrested dangerous, illegal immigrants, and it only reinforces the idea that non-white illegal immigrants are dangerous.
• The Murdoch articles also create the impression that Democrat leaders don’t want to arrest dangerous, illegal immigrants. They don’t address at all whether ICE has mistreated immigrants, legal or illegal, and American citizens–and that Democratic leaders and citizens in those states are angry about this.
• I think these are examples of the Murdoch outlets operating more like political propaganda for the Trump administration rather than a legitimate news agency.
• It should be noted that the first two articles and the Murdoch articles cover different time periods. But if the data from the first two articles are correct, I think we would be correct to be highly skeptical that somehow ratio of arrests of violent illegal immigrants to illegal immigrants without convictions is dramatically different in Minnesota.