Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal

"A Guardian analysis of government records has found that the vast majority 77% of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time in 2025 had no criminal conviction, exposing a stark gap between the Trump administration's rhetoric and reality. Within days of Donald Trump's inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) trotted out a phrase that his surrogates would come to use over and over again: the worst of the worst. The term has become a shorthand justification for the administration's unprecedented overhaul of immigration enforcement a relentless campaign the administration claims is focused on arresting and deporting violent criminals."

"However, a review of records obtained by the Guardian and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed against DHS, raises questions about those claims. The findings come from little-known documents known as I-213 forms. DHS uses these forms in court to prove that a person is in the country illegally. The documents are filed when a person first encounters ICE, and DHS begins the deportation process, which is often when they are arrested."

"The documents released to the Guardian do not cover every arrest since Trump took office, but do cover everyone that DHS started deportation proceedings during most of 2025. The Guardian analyzed data extracted from nearly 140,000 I-213 forms, from January 2025 through mid-August 2025, and found that the surge in arrests under Trump is driven by the apprehension of people who have never been convicted of a crime."

Records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit include nearly 140,000 I-213 forms filed from January through mid-August 2025. I-213 forms record biographical details and any criminal history when an individual first encounters ICE and deportation proceedings begin. Analysis of those forms shows 77% of people placed into deportation proceedings for the first time in 2025 had no criminal conviction. The dataset covers most individuals for whom DHS initiated deportation in 2025, though it does not cover every arrest since the administration took office. The surge in enforcement is driven largely by apprehensions of non-convicted people, undermining claims of a focus on violent criminals.

Read at www.theguardian.com