Only 16 of over 600 detained by ICE in Chicago area have criminal histories, records show

The Trump administration has released the names of 608 people detained by immigration agents whose arrests may have violated a court order, and only 16 of them have been identified by the federal government as posing a “high risk to public safety” because of their alleged criminal histories, according to court documents.

The list includes names, country of citizenship and whether they have been deported, remain in detention or voluntarily deported.

At the top of the list are 16 people considered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pose a “high risk to public safety” because of their alleged criminal histories. The charges include aggravated assault, aggravated DUI, domestic battery and kidnapping. One person was deemed a national security risk and another was identified as a “foreign criminal,” but no details were given.

The government had to provide the list to the court as a judge prepares to potentially freeing most of these people by next Fridaybecause their arrests potentially violated the terms of a court order restricting warrantless arrests.

Eric Balliet, a retired special agent with Homeland Security Investigations who worked for the department until last year after 25 years on the job, said ICE arrest data erodes confidence in federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area, particularly the Trump administration’s repeated claims that it targets “the worst of the worst.”

“It confuses the public. It certainly creates a sense of fear,” he said. It takes a lot of time and, frankly, from the people I’ve spoken to, the department and the agency don’t want to spend that time, that strategic and operational planning to get the worst of the worst.

The government’s own data shows that 78% of the 608 people detained by federal immigration agents between June 12 and mid-October pose a low risk to public safety, while a total of 7% are considered high risk — although not all of those considered high risk have a criminal history.

Only 16 people on the list – or 2.6% – have criminal histories that the federal government says put them at high risk to public safety.

“It’s not a good percentage, to say the least. I think it’s at odds with what has been perpetuated over the last few months, where this is a targeted crackdown designed to go after the worst of the worst,” Balliet said.

The list of arrests that may have violated a court order comes as sources said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino left Chicago on Thursdayafter two months of controversial efforts to step up immigration enforcement under Operation Midway Blitz.

Sources said Bovino may be on his way to Charlotte, North Carolina.

“I’m in West Virginia right now, where I’m training with several hundred Border Patrol agents, and you’re going to see us redeploy to…it could be New York, it could be Chicago, it could be Charlotte,” Bovino said in an interview on FOX News.

Bovino mentioned Chicago as a possible Border Patrol target, referring to the 614 people a federal judge ordered released on bail from ICE custody by next Friday while the court determines whether federal agents violated a court order in arresting them. This court order prohibits warrantless arrests without probable cause.

The judge who ordered the release of these individuals acknowledged that some of the people on this list could pose a flight risk or threat to public safety, and called on the government to identify these individuals.

“We’re going to go even harder on the streets. If he releases these 650 people, we’re going to apprehend 1,650 on the streets of Chicago,” Bovino told FOX News.

Meanwhile, 13 other people detained by ICE were released Friday, after a federal judge said their rights were violated during their arrest.

Sources said these people were scattered in detention centers across the country.

The Department of Homeland Security said more than 3,300 people have been arrested during the ongoing Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area.

Meanwhile, it’s been two weeks since Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she could provide a complete list of names of people detained during Operation Midway Blitz.

A federal judge is also waiting on the same list, but Homeland Security has not yet made that list public.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who issued a preliminary injunction limiting the use of force by immigration agents in Chicago, plans to hold a hearing in March on whether to make that injunction permanent, before more Border Patrol agents return to the region.

If you know someone on this list and have additional facts or details to share about their experience, we’d love to talk to you. You can email CBS News Chicago at cbschicagotips@cbs.com.