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...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/us-immigration-trump-administration

 

Newsom debunks DHS claim about California releasing undocumented criminals from prison

California governor accused the administration of trying to 'distract' from Trump posting a racist video of the Obamas…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/06/gavin-newsom-debunks-stephen-miller-claim-x

 

Oregon must dismiss more than 1,400 criminal cases due to attorney shortage, court rules

The problem has been years in the making and has become a significant constitutional crisis, as people charged with crimes are routinely unable to fight their cases as they wait weeks, months or sometimes years for the state to appoint them lawyers. The attorney shortage – due in part to the increasing difficulty of recruiting attorneys for the low-salary, high-caseload jobs – has meant that people have had cases hanging over them for extended periods of time, impacting their housing, employment and families, advocates say. 

Oregon's highest court ruled on Thursday that dismissals are required if the state failed to provide counsel within 60 days after arraignment for a misdemeanor and within 90 days for a felony...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/05/oregon-supreme-court-ruling-attorney-shortage

 

‘Is the price of doing this worth it?’: North Carolina Republicans worry about Trump immigration raids - POLITICO

Former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory warned that recent local coverage, like an incident at a Charlotte shopping center, when masked agents arrested a man who said he was a U.S. citizen, and a raid at a local country club, may hurt the GOP on an issue it has long dominated. 

"Republicans had the upper hand on immigration, as long as they were going after the criminals and the gangs, but I think they're losing the upper hand on that issue because of the apparent disjointed implementation of arrest," McCrory said in an interview. "From a PR and political standpoint, for the first time, immigration is maybe having a negative impact on my party."…

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/23/north-carolina-immigration-raids-trump-00665164 

 

Misleading Ice data ‘laying groundwork’ for mass deportations, advocates say

The recent arrest data from Ice does not say where the arrests took place, or how many people the federal agents arrested had prior convictions, data points necessary to understand whether the administration is actually arresting the so-called worst first...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/12/trump-ice-deportation-data

 

Deported Colombians live in fear after seeking asylum in the U.S. - The Washington Post

President Trump said some of his first deportation flights were "getting the bad, hard criminals out." But Colombian officials said none had criminal charges against them...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/06/colombia-trump-immigration-asylum-deportation/

 

Trump Is Not Deporting Only “Criminals” – Mother Jones

"There is no way for the Trump administration to achieve any of its enforcement goals without targeting immigrants with no criminal histories," noted Austin Kocher, who researches immigration enforcement. And that's exactly what is happening. NBC News and NPR recently reported that scores of immigrants without criminal histories have been arrested...

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/trump-deportation-criminals-statistic-ice-you-cant-only-deport-criminals/

My Neighbor, the Suspected War Criminal (Reveal podcast)

There may be 1,700 suspected war criminals and human rights abusers in the U.S. Who are they, and what is the government doing about it?

Interview: 

https://revealnews.org/podcast/my-neighbor-the-suspected-war-criminal-2022/

Build Back Better bill wouldn’t parole criminal immigrants - PolitiFact

…Under the bill, immigration parole would be available to people who entered the country legally or illegally before 2011, but not to people convicted of crimes…

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/nov/23/viral-image/build-back-better-bill-wouldnt-parole-criminal-imm/

PolitiFact | Yes, Democrats voted to send stimulus checks to prisoners, as Republicans did last year

... They did, arguing that to do otherwise would harm the families of prisoners. It's worth noting that Cotton and other Senate Republicans voted for previous relief packages that also resulted in prisoners getting checks...

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/mar/09/tom-cotton/yes-democrats-voted-send-stimulus-checks-prisoners/

Tom Cotton falsely claims Joe Biden halted the deportation of criminals - PolitiFact

...Biden's administration ordered a 100-day deportation pause, but it did not apply to criminals such as murderers, rapists, terrorists or gang members...

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/feb/26/tom-cotton/tom-cotton-falsely-claims-joe-biden-halted-deporta/

Opinion | The Lawbreakers Trump Loves - The New York Times

He uses scare tactics about “law and order.” But what distinguishes this White House is its ties to criminals.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/opinion/sunday/trump-protests-law.html

'Conmen, grifters and criminals': why is Trump's circle so at odds with the law?

Apart from legal trouble, what Bannon, Manafort, Flynn, Cohen, Stone, Gates and Papadopoulos have in common is the president
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/21/donald-trump-law-crime-steve-bannon

DACA student hits back at Trump over tweet saying recipients are 'far from angels' | TheHill

A student who is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is pushing back against President Trump’s latest claim that young undocumented immigrants protected under the policy are “far from angels” and some are “hardened criminals.” ....
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/470318-daca-student-hits-back-at-trump-over-tweet-saying-recipients-are-far-from-angels

Here are 5 important things Donald Trump has done to make gun violence worse - Raw Story

President Donald Trump told the press pool that he agrees "more must be done" on mass shootings. When it comes to protecting Americans, however, Trump has done more to protect the gun than gun-victims. Here are three significant things Trump did that has made gun violence worse. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/08/here-are-5-important-things-donald-trump-has-done-to-make-gun-violence-worse/

Trump takes clemency actions in several cases - ABC News

Trump has issued full pardons to five men convicted of crimes including theft, fraud and drug trafficking, in addition to commuting the sentences of two others...
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/president-trump-takes-clemency-action-64638656

How the administration’s breathless numbers about dangers on the border stack up - The Washington Post: Analysis

A visual assessment of border crossings, criminal detainees and the purported terrorist threat. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/08/how-administrations-breathless-numbers-about-dangers-border-stack-up/

Trump admin claims ICE is targeting so-called 'bad hombres,' but the numbers say otherwise - Daily Kos

Campaign Action Multiple times this past spring and summer, Donald Trump claimed that he watched Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents "liberate towns from the grasp of MS-13," saying in May that "the people are dancing and they're waving and they're looking out their windows and they're waving at the ICE people."
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1788217

ICE Modified Its 'Risk Assessment' Software So It Automatically Recommends Detention - VICE

A recent software change to an ICE tool that automatically recommends detention of immigrants with little to no criminal history.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evk3kw/ice-modified-its-risk-assessment-software-so-it-automatically-recommends-detention

Republican strategist goes on epic rant about ‘assemblage of crooks’ and ‘outright weirdos’ working for Trump - Raw Story

GOP strategist Steve Schmidt slammed Republicans who work for President Donald Trump in an epic rant on MSNBC's Deadline: White House on Friday. ...
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/republican-strategist-goes-epic-rant-assemblage-crooks-outright-weirdos-working-trump/