ICE Arrests Spike as Data Disputes 'Worst of the Worst' Claims

Internal records obtained via Freedom of Information Act lawsuits show a massive surge in immigration arrests during 2025. Nationwide, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increased its arrests from 111,000 in 2024 to over 320,000 in 2025. In the greater Los Angeles area, arrests more than tripled, rising from approximately 4,680 in 2024 to over 14,000 in 2025.

Data analyzed by the Deportation Data Project, a joint UCLA and UC Berkeley initiative, challenges federal claims that the agency targets the "worst of the worst." In Los Angeles, roughly 39% of those detained had no criminal charges or convictions. Similarly, during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, records indicate more than 60% of the 3,700 to 3,800 people arrested between December and February had no criminal record. That operation saw a peak in early January with 3,000 agents conducting over 100 arrests daily, though activity declined after the deaths of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti and the subsequent takeover by border czar Tom Homan.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security disputed these findings, arguing that the non-criminal label is deceptive. DHS officials asserted that many individuals without U.S. rap sheets are actually terrorists or gangsters and that every person who entered the country illegally committed a crime. The agency accused the research project of manipulating data to create a false narrative regarding the targeting of high-risk individuals.