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What were the most common crimes leading to deportation from the US in 2025?
Executive summary
Public reporting in 2025 shows a split picture: federal agencies and the Trump administration emphasize that most recent ICE arrests and many removals target people charged with or convicted of crimes (figures of roughly 70–75% are cited by DHS/ICE statements), while independent news analyses and advocacy groups report that a large and growing share of detainees and deportees have no criminal convictions or only minor charges (reports cite 40–71% depending on the dataset and timeframe) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Available sources do not provide a single definitive ranked list of “most common crimes leading to deportation in 2025”; instead, they show competing emphases — violent and aggravated felonies in official messaging, and immigration-status violations, traffic offenses and nonviolent crimes in independent analyses [1] [5] [3] [6].
1. Two competing narratives: “criminal aliens” vs. immigration-status removals
The Department of Homeland Security and affiliated releases frame 2025 enforcement around removing “criminal illegal aliens,” repeatedly asserting that about 70–75% of ICE arrests are of people charged with or convicted of crimes in the U.S., and highlighting removals of gang members, cartel figures and violent offenders [1] [2]. Independent reporters and researchers paint a different picture: analyses by The New York Times, The Guardian and migration-policy researchers find that a sizeable share of people in ICE custody have no criminal conviction — with published figures ranging from roughly 40% up to 71% depending on period and definition — and that many arrests are for immigration violations, prior reentry, or collateral detentions at workplaces and in sanctuary cities [3] [7] [4] [8].
2. Which crimes are explicitly called out by officials — violent, gang and national-security offenses
In official statements and White House messaging, examples repeatedly invoked as priorities include violent crimes, gang membership, terrorism-related offenses, corruption and transnational drug and trafficking charges; these are cited to justify mass removals and special operations [9] [1] [2] [10]. The White House and DHS highlight high‑profile deportations of people wanted abroad or linked to serious offenses, and they describe policy changes designed to prioritize such cases [9] [10].
3. Independent data: immigration-status violations, traffic offenses, DUI and low-level offenses appear often in datasets
Legal commentaries and data aggregators point to non‑criminal immigration violations (overstays, unlawful presence, reentry after deportation) as the single most common legal basis for removal; practitioners and law firms list aggravated felonies and crimes involving moral turpitude (theft, fraud, assault) as categories that can trigger deportation, but note that status violations remain frequent reasons for proceedings [5] [11]. Reporting and compiled datasets also identify traffic-related offenses, DWIs and minor pending charges among many arrested and removed in 2025 [6] [3].
4. Counting differences explain much of the disagreement
Analysts warn that “what counts” varies: DHS/ICE often report arrests or removals attributed to the presence of a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge, while other offices and reporters count the share of detainees with no conviction, or count repeat encounters and administrative removals for status alone. The Deportation Data Project and media studies use different time windows and definitions, producing divergent proportions [12] [13] [3].
5. What the available sources do — and do not — say about a ranked top list
No single source among those provided publishes an authoritative ranked list of the “most common crimes leading to deportation in 2025.” DHS and White House materials highlight violent and organized‑crime removals as priorities and cite the 70% figure for arrests of criminal aliens [1] [2]. Independent reporting and migration researchers emphasize that many deportations and detentions in 2025 involved people with no conviction or with minor offenses like traffic violations and DUI [3] [4] [6]. Therefore, a precise ranked top‑five crime list is not found in the available reporting (not found in current reporting).
6. How to interpret the policy and political context behind the numbers
Official emphasis on violent and organized‑crime cases serves political and enforcement‑priority purposes; DHS messaging also frames voluntary departures and self‑deportations as evidence of success [1] [14]. Independent outlets and legal scholars point out institutional incentives — deportation targets, local detainer practices and collateral arrests — that can increase the number of people without serious criminal records caught up in removals [3] [8]. Readers should therefore treat headline percentages as reflecting policy choices and counting rules as much as underlying criminality.
7. Bottom line and guidance for further clarity
If you need a definitive ranking of crimes that led to deportation in 2025, consult the original DHS/OHSS monthly tables and ICE removals data and compare definitions [12] [13]. Journalistic and academic analyses indicate that both serious violent/aggravated felonies and immigration‑status violations (plus a notable share of minor traffic/DUI and nonviolent offenses) appear across datasets — but existing public sources do not converge on a single ordered list for 2025 [1] [5] [3].