Despite daily press releases and a special website dedicated to the “worst of the worst” arrests from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS maintains that mainstream media outlets continue to spin the narrative when it comes to immigration arrests.
They play up immigrant and protestor sob stories, ignore the victims of illegal alien crime and downplay the criminals who are being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
For example, a recent CBS article claims, “Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump’s 1st year back in office had violent criminal records.”
CBS’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez cited an internal DHS document as the basis for the report, saying it showed less than 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE were charged or convicted of violent crimes.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin fired back on X that the article downplayed several serious crimes by categorizing them as “non-violent.”
“Drug trafficking, Distribution of child pornography, burglary, fraud, DUI, embezzlement, solicitation of a minor, human smuggling are all categorized as ‘nonviolent crimes.’ Like we said, ~70% of those illegal aliens arrested under @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem have pending criminal charges or prior convictions,” McLaughlin wrote.
Drug trafficking, Distribution of child pornography, burglary, fraud, DUI, embezzlement, solicitation of a minor, human smuggling are all categorized as “non violent crimes.”
Like we said, ~70% of those illegal aliens arrested under @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem have pending… https://t.co/4AUzxGMEhP
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) February 9, 2026
President Donald Trump campaigned on mass deportations and vowed to go after “the worst of the worst,” along with the millions of unvetted migrants who entered the country during the Biden administration’s open border policies.
Immigrants from more than 100 countries appeared at the border in recent years, a break from the past when they were largely from Mexico and Central America. Among those are 2 million known gotaways who evaded U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The statistics show ICE has dramatically increased arrests since Trump’s return to office, with more than 77 million Americans voting for those efforts.
Despite the misleading CBS headline, the article noted that “nearly 60% of ICE arrestees over the past year had criminal charges or convictions” including for DUI, kidnapping and arson. The other 40% were “accused of civil immigration violations.”
“The internal DHS figures undermine frequent assertions by the Trump administration that its crackdown on illegal immigration is primarily targeting dangerous and violent criminals living in the U.S. illegally,” wrote Montoya-Galvez, who is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News.
The DHS document obtained by CBS News indicates that ICE made roughly 393,000 arrests between Jan. 21, 2025 to Jan. 31, 2026.
According to the DHS document, ICE arrested nearly 43,000 for assault and 5,400 for sexual assault. Nearly 22,600 individuals had charges or convictions involving dangerous drugs, while another 6,100 had weapons offenses on their records.
Another 30,000 of those arrested by ICE had been charged with or convicted with driving while under influence or intoxicated, and 5,000 arrestees had burglary charges or convictions.
The document indicates another 118,000 detainees had criminal charges or convictions for “other” crimes. The data in the DHS document does not include arrests by Border Patrol agents who have been deployed across the country to support immigration operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and Minneapolis, CBS reported.
In another X post, McLaughlin wrote, “By @cbs’s standard, Edward Hernandez, who @ICEgov arrested last week in Virginia is a ‘non-criminal’ because he hasn’t been convicted in the United States. Never mind that he is an MS-13 member & confessed to murdering 5 people in El Salvador through shooting, torturing, stabbing, and dismemberment (including one victim who was alive.)”
By @cbs’s standard, Edward Hernandez, who @ICEgov arrested last week in Virginia is a “non criminal” because he hasn’t been convicted in the United States.
Never mind that he is an MS-13 member & confessed to murdering 5 people in El Salvador through shooting, torturing,… pic.twitter.com/lY3VYOQGdu
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) February 9, 2026
DHS launched the website dhs.gov/wow to highlight the “worst of the worst” arrested and allow members of the public to search by state.
The official ICE X account also responded to the CBS report, sharing the article with a corrected headline:
“Here’s a more accurate headline, CBS. Nearly 70% of criminal aliens detained by ICE have pending charges or prior convictions. So-called “non-violent” offenders include individuals charged with drug trafficking, distribution of child pornography, burglary, fraud, DUI, embezzlement, solicitation of a minor, human smuggling, and more. Labeling these offenses as “non-violent” does not mean they aren’t threats to public safety.”
Here’s a more accurate headline, CBS.
Nearly 70% of criminal aliens detained by ICE have pending charges or prior convictions. So-called “non-violent” offenders include individuals charged with drug trafficking, distribution of child pornography, burglary, fraud, DUI,… https://t.co/FO629197Lt pic.twitter.com/FpJ0DE4KTK
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) February 9, 2026
Meanwhile, Deporter-in-Chief and former President Barack Obama deported more than 3 million people during his two terms in office with much less media scrutiny.
A Time article from April 7, 2014, ran a similar headline, “Most Immigrants Deported Under Obama Had Thin or No Criminal Record,” which indicates the Trump administration isn’t reinventing the wheel when it comes to deportations.
Citing a New York Times investigation of government records, under Obama two-thirds of immigrants deported from the U.S. since 2008 committed minor traffic violations or had no criminal record at all. Another 20% — about 394,000 people — had a criminal record or faced drug charges.
