Are undocumented immigrants more likely to be incarcerated for immigration violations or other crimes in 2024?
Executive summary
Research through 2024 shows immigrants overall—including undocumented migrants—are incarcerated and arrested at substantially lower rates than U.S.-born residents: recent work finds immigrants 60% less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born men (and 30% less likely than white U.S.-born men) [1] and Texas data show undocumented people arrested at far lower rates for violent, drug and property crimes than native-born Texans [2]. At the same time, federal immigration enforcement in FY2024 focused heavily on administrative immigration arrests: ICE’s ERO made 113,430 administrative arrests in FY2024 and roughly three‑quarters of ICE’s arrests were for immigration violations rather than criminal arrests [3] [4].
1. Immigrants commit and are incarcerated less — the broad research picture
Multiple large studies and syntheses conclude immigrants are not more criminal than U.S.-born people; a multi‑university NBER working paper summarized that immigrants have never been incarcerated at higher rates than the U.S.-born over 150 years and, in recent decades, immigrants are about 60% less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born men [5] [6]. Migration policy research and fact sheets echo that national scholarship “overwhelmingly” finds immigrants of all legal statuses commit crimes at lower rates than the U.S.-born [7] [8].
2. Undocumented-specific evidence: lower offending and arrest rates
Studies that separate undocumented status from legal immigration status find the same pattern: a Texas study funded by the National Institute of Justice estimated undocumented people were arrested at less than half the rate of native-born citizens for violent and drug crimes, and at roughly one-quarter the property crime arrest rate (e.g., drug arrests 135 per 100,000 for undocumented vs. 337.2 per 100,000 for U.S.-born) [2]. Other reviews and advocacy briefings also cite estimates that undocumented individuals are substantially less likely to be convicted or incarcerated than U.S.-born people [9] [10].
3. What counts as “incarceration” versus “immigration detention” matters
National incarceration comparisons use traditional prison/jail metrics whereas federal immigration enforcement produces a separate population held under immigration authorities. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations reported 113,430 administrative arrests in FY2024 and that about 76% of ICE arrests were administrative immigration arrests; only about 21% were criminal arrests by ICE/HSI, illustrating that many detentions reflect immigration law rather than criminal convictions [3] [4]. ICE’s FY2024 report also noted ERO assisted with roughly 3,000 criminal indictments and convictions during that year while issuing nearly 150,000 immigration detainers—distinct processes with different legal consequences [11].
4. Enforcement practices skew perception and statistics
Because immigration violations trigger administrative arrests and detentions even when people have no criminal record, headline counts of “immigrants in custody” can mislead about criminality. Reporting shows nearly half of ERO administrative arrestees had no prior criminal convictions and that among those with convictions many were for non‑violent offenses like traffic violations; in high‑profile operations a majority arrested had no criminal record [3] [12]. This enforcement focus creates a visible detainee population tied to immigration status, not necessarily violent crime.
5. Contradictory studies and partisan use of research
A minority of studies and commentators argue undocumented immigrants commit more serious crimes or serve longer sentences; for example, work by conservative economist John Lott has been critiqued by peers and think tanks for methodology and sample selection [13]. Journalistic and policy outlets note that such findings are disputed and that broad meta‑analyses and recent large studies contradict claims of a migrant “crime wave” [13] [9].
6. Limits and unanswered questions in available reporting
Available sources do not provide a single national time‑series that isolates undocumented incarceration counts for 2024 across all jurisdictions; many studies rely on state datasets (e.g., Texas) or combine administrative detention with criminal incarceration in different ways, which complicates direct comparisons [2] [4]. Also, immigration arrests and criminal prosecutions are handled by separate systems—comparing their raw counts without context conflates distinct legal categories [11] [4].
7. Bottom line for 2024: immigration violations drive many detentions; criminal offending remains lower
In 2024 federal enforcement produced large numbers of administrative arrests and detentions for immigration violations (ERO: 113,430 administrative arrests; 76% of ICE arrests were administrative), yet multiple empirical studies and state data show immigrants—including undocumented immigrants—are incarcerated and arrested at lower rates than U.S.-born people for violent, property and drug crimes [3] [1] [2]. Policymakers and media should separate immigration‑law detentions from criminal‑justice incarceration when interpreting statistics; conflating them creates misleading narratives about criminality [4] [8].