Amidst a massive immigration crackdown by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeping through the New York and New Jersey areas this summer, it has been revealed that three out of four arrested immigrants have no prior criminal record. According to an analysis of ICE data obtained by the academic organization Deportation Data Project by the local media outlet Gotham Mist, a total of 919 people were arrested by ICE agents in New York City alone last July.
This figure is approximately double the record low set last April and marks the highest number of arrests since November of last year (992 cases). Notably, it was found that 702 individuals, or 76% of those arrested in New York City, had no prior criminal record. In contrast, only 113 individuals were facing criminal charges, and a mere 104 had actual convictions, leading to the analysis that immigrants without criminal records have become the primary targets of the crackdown. The situation in New Jersey is even more serious. Last July, 2,080 people were arrested by ICE in New Jersey, marking a record high in the last four years. This figure represents more than a twofold increase in just two months compared to last May (842 people). It was confirmed that 1,507 of those arrested in New Jersey—72% of the total—had no prior criminal record or charges against them. This scale of arrests of non-convicted individuals is also the highest in the past four years. In response to these findings, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security countered that “the Project on Deportation Data used data selectively,” clarifying that “the administration is tracking and arresting the worst criminals.” Conversely, immigrant rights groups have strongly criticized the administration’s indiscriminate crackdown policy.
Murad Awaude, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, argued, “The surge in ICE arrests is consistent with the administration’s attitude of being solely focused on deportation policies, with no regard for the damage to the local economy or the lives of those trapped in this brutal immigration system.” President Awaude continued, “If our neighbors become afraid even to carry on with their daily lives, the safety of us all will be threatened and deteriorate,” urging that “New York must continue to reject large-scale deportation policies and not cooperate with the federal government’s anti-immigration crackdown.”