What percentage of Trump deportees had prior felony convictions as of 12/01/2025?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows disagreement about how many people deported under Trump II had felony or other criminal convictions. News outlets and researchers report that a large share of recent ICE detainees and deportees lacked convictions — for example, Fortune and Reuters cite ICE or obtained data saying roughly two-thirds to 72% of people detained had no criminal convictions — while some pro-enforcement analysts and the Center for Immigration Studies claim roughly two‑thirds of those arrested or removed had criminal histories [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What the numbers people cite actually measure
Different sources are measuring different things: ICE detention populations at a point in time, arrests, removals (deportations), or people “processed into the system.” Fortune reports that 72% of people detained at one point had no criminal convictions, citing ICE statistics, and nonpublic data cited there show 65% of those processed into ICE’s system by June 14 lacked convictions as used by Cato researchers [1]. By contrast, CIS argues roughly two‑thirds of people arrested and a “similar percentage” of those deported under Trump II had criminal histories — a claim about cumulative arrest/removal records rather than instantaneous detention counts [3]. Those are not the same denominator and produce different percentages [1] [3].
2. Why “felony convictions” is a narrower question
Most public reporting aggregates any criminal conviction or pending charge rather than isolating felonies. Axios notes that historically “less than 1%” of immigrants were removed for crimes other than immigration violations in one recent fiscal year and that ICE’s non‑detained docket included about 425,000 noncitizens with criminal convictions over 40 years — figures that mix misdemeanors, felonies and administrative removals [4]. Fortune and Reuters report broad shares without breaking out felony‑level convictions specifically [1] [2]. Available sources do not mention a single, authoritative percentage of Trump II deportees who specifically had prior felony convictions as of December 1, 2025.
3. Conflicting narratives and political context
Administration officials frame enforcement as targeting “the worst of the worst” and have included pending charges with convictions when describing “criminal” targets; DHS officials disputed reports saying ICE wasn’t focusing on people with criminal records [1]. Independent outlets and researchers counter that ICE’s recent raids and detentions have swept up many people without convictions, undermining the administration’s rhetoric [1] [2]. The difference in framing—counting pending charges, misdemeanors, prior arrests, or only final felony convictions—creates incentives to emphasize or downplay criminality depending on the source’s agenda [1] [3].
4. What reputable trackers and researchers say
TRAC and other researchers have flagged problems with public ICE data and said removals under Trump II at times trailed Biden-era totals; TRAC reports limited FOIA returns and methodological complexities in comparing eras [5]. Stateline’s review concluded fewer than half of ICE arrests under Trump were people with convictions, and that Trump-era arrests captured a smaller share of violent and drug convictions than earlier [6]. Those independent analyses stress data gaps and shifting definitions [5] [6].
5. How to interpret the discrepancy
When one source reports that “roughly two‑thirds” of deportees had criminal histories (CIS) and others say a majority of detainees had no convictions (Fortune, Reuters), the most likely explanation is differing denominators and counting rules: arrests vs. current detainees vs. removals; convictions vs. pending charges; inclusion of misdemeanors vs. felonies [3] [1] [2]. The various claims cannot be reconciled without access to case‑level ICE removal data parsed by conviction type — data TRAC and others say remain incomplete or delayed [5].
6. What’s missing and what to watch for
Available sources do not provide a definitive percentage of Trump deportees with prior felony convictions as of 12/01/2025; they do not publish a reconciled, case‑level breakdown isolating felony convictions among all removals (not found in current reporting). To resolve this, look for an ICE or independent dataset that lists removals through Nov/Dec 2025 with conviction class (misdemeanor vs. felony), or for FOIA releases or TRAC updates that explicitly parse felonies among removals [5].
7. Bottom line for readers
There is no single, uncontested figure in the provided reporting for the share of Trump‑era deportees who had prior felony convictions on 12/01/2025; reputable outlets document sharply different portrayals depending on measurement choices and political framing [1] [3] [6]. Readers should treat headline percentages skeptically, ask which denominator and conviction definition are used, and demand case‑level ICE data to settle the dispute [5].