people with no criminal convictions : NPR
Who is detained and expelled, and how did the figures have led to the priorities of the Trump administration on criminals? We put Trump’s deportation and detention numbers in context.
Ailsa Chang, host:
President Trump is going through a mass expulsion campaign. He promised that it will be the biggest in American history. Well, new data give us a clearer image of which is arrested. Jasmine Garsd, corresponding to NPR immigration, now corresponding to us to break some of these figures. Hi, jas.
Jasmine guys, byline: hi.
Chang: OK, so how many immigrants are in detention? Do we even know?
Guyd: Yes, at least 56,000 people are held in ice detention. And according to the expulsion data project, which is a group of academics who collect immigration numbers, about half of the people in detention do not have criminal convictions. It is nearly 30,000 people in detention without a criminal record.
Chang: Wow.
Guyd: Now, I asked Professor Graeme Blair of the UCLA, who is one of the project directors, what about the other half of the detainees – those who have a criminal conviction? And he said that the most common is traffic violations.
Graeme Blair: You listen to Tom Homan and Stephen Miller, they say things as if they continue the worst of the worst – people who are murderers. And that’s just not what the data say people they really stop.
Chang: Ok. And just to be clear, Homan is the tsar border of the Trump administration. Miller is a key Trump assistant. So Jas, if the idea was to expel the criminals, how did we end up with nearly 30,000 people in detention who do not have a criminal record?
Guyd: So, in the first months of this administration, the number (pH) of detentions was almost the same as during the Biden administration. But recently, there was this pressure to have more people. I mean, there is now a goal of 3,000 arrests per day. According to Professor Blair, the ice raids in Los Angeles really marked a turning point – more people without a criminal record are arrested. Now I checked the ice numbers myself. The number of people without criminal conviction in detention almost doubled last month. This is where we see the greatest growth.
Chang: Interesting. And what does the Trump administration say about it? Is the priority still on violent criminals?
Guyd: Yes, I contacted the Trump administration and I received no response. At a press conference last week, President and Prosecutor General Pam Bondi said the emphasis on violent criminals. But we have also heard that there will be collateral arrests and that being in the United States undocumented is a sufficient reason for detention and expulsion.
Chang: Ok. Well, we talked about figures here, but Jas, I know that you spent so much time reporting in immigrant communities. And I just wonder, as you see? What do people tell you?
Guyd: About a month ago, I reported a man in Florida, Pasteur Maurio Ambrocio du Guatemala. He also has a landscaping company. He had been in the United States undocumented for about 30 years, no criminal record. And he had something called a return stay, which means that you register with immigration officials at least once a year. You let them know that you are employed, you have not committed any crime. He has been doing it for 13 years. A few months ago, he was arrested and detention. Last night, he was expelled to Guatemala. Now, here is Greg Johns, a neighbor who lives in front of the Ambrocio family and who voted for President Trump.
Greg Johns: I am not necessarily comfortable with where we are currently. You are going to take, you know, a community leader, a pastor, a man who works hard. What-Did you need a number that day?
Chang: Wow, a supporter of Trump who no longer feels comfortable. Public opinion has moved when the repression of the immigration of the Trump administration continues, do you think?
Guyd: Yeah. Last year, a Gallup survey revealed that 55% of Americans wanted less immigration. But a recent NPR survey with PBS News and Marist shows that 52% of Americans now disappear how the president manages immigration.
Chang: It’s Jasmine Garsd de NPR. Thank you very much, Jas.
Guyd: Thank you for doing me.
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit the pages of use of the conditions of use of our website on www.npr.org for more information.
The accuracy and availability of NPR transcriptions may vary. The transcription text can be revised to correct errors or match audio updates. Audio on npr.org can be published after its original broadcast or publication. The file authorizing the NPR programming is the audio recording.
