93% of the people booked in ICE detention centers around the country have absolutely no criminal or property convictions and 65% of detainees currently in federal custody have no criminal history whatsoever, directly contradicting claims from the Department of Homeland Security that the Trump administration is targeting hardened criminals in an attempt to “secure the United States.”
According to data obtained by the conservative Cato Institute, “ICE’s deportation agenda is not what is being advertised to the American public. ICE is not interested in prioritizing public safety, yet it constantly pretends that anyone who objects to its tactics and priorities is defending violent criminals. But violent criminals are not ICE’s primary focus. Indeed, it now has no focus altogether. That’s the essence of mass deportation: it is indiscriminate, unfocused, and chaotic.”
Additionally, the Cato Institute notes that much of the data being disseminated publicly by ICE is inflated and therefore untrue, and is used to garner headlines in the mainstream media.
For example, ICE and Homeland Security say more than 44,000 people were booked on pending charges as of June 14. However, ICE refers to people with pending charges as “criminals,” even those who have not been convicted of a crime, meaning their figures are little more than a public relations ploy.
David Bier, Cato’s director of immigration studies, warns, “ICE’s deportation agenda is not what is being advertised to the American public. ICE is not interested in prioritizing public safety, yet it constantly pretends that anyone who objects to its tactics and priorities is defending violent criminals. But violent criminals are not ICE’s primary focus. Indeed, it now has no focus altogether. That’s the essence of mass deportation: it is indiscriminate, unfocused, and chaotic.”
Despite the blatant lies being disseminated by ICE and DHS, border czar Tom Homan doubled down on the propaganda during an interview with the New York Times on Friday, claiming ICE is “prioritizing” violent criminals while also vowing to deport anyone in the United States illegally.
Maybe we should also deport administration officials who so brazenly lie to the public. If nothing else, they should be arrested and charged with violating federal law.
