Nearly all immigrants detained in Trump Chicago raid had no criminal conviction

"More than 97% of immigrants detained in the Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago had no criminal conviction, according to federal court records. The data, released on Friday and first reported by the Chicago Tribune, sharply contradicts the Trump administration's portrayal of the immigration sweeps as an effort to fight crime and, as Trump himself has described it, targeting the worst of the worst."

"Of the 614 immigrants arrested in the Chicago operation, which began in September, just 16 had significant criminal histories, according to federal data submitted to the court by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of a lawsuit. Ten of the detainees were either convicted of or face charges for some form of assault, battery or domestic violence. One had been convicted of enticement of a minor and kidnapping. One was labeled a foreign criminal. Two had drunk-driving convictions."

"The data was submitted to a federal court in the case of Castanon Nava v Department of Homeland Security, in which plaintiffs accuse the DHS of violating a 2022 consent decree that limits the federal immigration agents' ability to arrest migrants without a warrant. The DHS submitted a separate document to the court describing an additional 39 detainees as security threats, but did not state a reason for categorizing them that way."

Federal court records show more than 97% of immigrants detained in Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago had no criminal conviction. Of 614 arrested, only 16 had significant criminal histories. Ten detainees were convicted of or face charges for assault, battery, or domestic violence; one for enticement of a minor and kidnapping; two for drunk-driving; one labeled a foreign criminal. Federal records labeled about three dozen detainees high risk to public safety, while most were low risk and nearly all were described as flight risks. The data was filed in Castanon Nava v Department of Homeland Security, alleging violation of a 2022 consent decree; DHS separately labeled 39 detainees security threats without stating reasons.

Read at www.theguardian.com