On April 3, 2026, the Washington Post published a data analysis showing that, despite public statements from Trump administration officials pledging a more targeted enforcement approach, ICE arrests continue to overwhelmingly target immigrants with no criminal record. More than 70% of the roughly 73,000 individuals currently held in ICE custody have no criminal record, according to TRAC Immigration's analysis of ICE data. The 73,000 figure is the highest ever recorded — an 84% increase from January 2025. ICE personnel have grown from approximately 10,000 officers and agents to over 22,000 over the same period.
The analysis undercuts the administration's repeated public framing, including statements from administration leaders following the Minneapolis incident in which two US citizens were shot and killed, that enforcement would be redirected toward criminal targets. This is a structural observation about how the system has been built: the detention buildout (WEXMAC-TITUS warehouse acquisitions, $313M contracts to inexperienced contractors like GardaWorld, $45B in new funding over four years for detention expansion, 84% growth in custody population) has created physical and staffing capacity that requires a high arrest rate regardless of public enforcement-priority rhetoric. The infrastructure determines the policy more than the policy determines the infrastructure.