Fact check: How many people have been arrested by ice since January 20th? Who have criminal records

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, ICE has conducted over 109,000 arrests during the first five months of President Trump's second term ^[1]. However, the sources do not provide a precise answer to the specific question about arrests since January 20th of individuals with criminal records.

Key findings include:

• As of early June, approximately 51,000 undocumented migrants were in ICE detention, with 44% having no criminal record aside from entering the US without permission ^[2]
• ICE arrested 31,607 people in June 2025 alone ^[3]
• As of July 27, 2025, ICE held 56,945 people in detention, with 71.1% having no criminal conviction ^[4]
• ICE made an average of 990 daily initial book-ins during the first 26 days of July 2025 ^[4]
• 752 non-citizens convicted of murder and 1,693 convicted of sexual assault were arrested as of the end of May 2025 ^[5]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks important context about the complexity of ICE's enforcement priorities and the distinction between criminal convictions and immigration violations. Several critical points are missing:

• The majority of ICE arrests occur in border and Southern states ^[1], suggesting geographic concentration of enforcement efforts
• ICE's data is published quarterly and may not reflect real-time situations ^[6], making precise current numbers difficult to obtain
• The definition of "criminal records" varies significantly - some sources distinguish between serious criminal convictions (murder, sexual assault) versus immigration-related violations
• Immigration advocacy groups would benefit from emphasizing that most detainees lack serious criminal convictions, while enforcement-focused organizations and politicians would benefit from highlighting arrests of individuals with violent criminal histories

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains an implicit assumption that may be misleading:

• The question assumes a direct correlation between ICE arrests and criminal records, when the data shows that the majority of people in ICE detention (71.1%) have no criminal conviction ^[4]
• The framing suggests that most ICE arrests target individuals with criminal backgrounds, but the evidence indicates that 44% of detainees have no criminal record beyond immigration violations ^[2]
• The question lacks specificity about what constitutes a "criminal record" - whether it includes only serious felonies or also includes immigration-related violations and minor offenses

The available data suggests that ICE enforcement casts a much broader net than targeting only individuals with significant criminal histories, which contradicts common political narratives that emphasize focusing solely on "criminals" and "the worst of the worst."