(The Center Square) – More than 387,000 criminal noncitizens were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents in fiscal years 2021 through 2023.
The majority arrested were citizens of Mexico, Nicaragua, Columbia and Venezuela.
The majority arrested were in the ICE ERO areas of responsibility (AOR) of Dallas and Houston, according to a new ICE online statistical dashboard.
The dashboard “presents for the first time information and trends in arrests, detentions, removals and alternatives to detention,” ICE states. It includes data for fiscal years 2021, 2022 and 2023, and is updated quarterly.
ICE ERO arrest data falls into several categories, including by criminality, area of arrest within 25 field offices in AORs, country of citizenship of the offender and their criminal history. Data includes U.S. criminal convictions, pending criminal charges in the U.S., and those arrested who have no convictions or pending charges but who broke U.S. immigration laws including visa overstays and Visa Waiver Program violators.
Alleged visa violators include foreign nationals “who have repeatedly violated U.S. law by reentering after deportation, immigration fugitives with an executable final order of removal, and international fugitives wanted for crimes committed abroad,” ICE states. For fiscal years 2021 and 2022, this data also includes those who were apprehended after attempting to unlawfully enter the U.S. after Jan. 1, 2021.
The most common arrests are of illegal foreign nationals who have convictions of DUIs, drug possession, and assault and criminal (non-civil) traffic offenses like hit-and-run or leaving the scene of an accident, ICE says.
According to the data, over the three fiscal years evaluated, the top ICE ERO AORs where the most illegal foreign nationals were arrested were Dallas, Houston, Newark, New Orleans, Miami, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Boston and Denver.
Dallas AOR ICE ERO agents arrested the most illegal foreign nationals in the country of over 38,000. The arrests led to 15,011 criminal convictions, 5,421 pending criminal charges (PCC), and include 17,852 “other immigrant violators” (OIV), according to the data.
Houston agents arrested the next greatest number of nearly 29,000. The arrests led to 14,737 criminal convictions, 4,046 pending criminal charges and include 9,802 other immigrant violators.
Newark, New Jersey, agents arrested the third greatest number of illegal foreign nationals in the country of over 27,000. The arrests led to 2,336 criminal convictions, 1,856 pending criminal charges and include 23,077 other immigrant violators.
Rounding out the top five regions with the greatest number of arrests was New Orleans with over 25,000 and Miami AOR with over 24,000. However, Chicago and New York City AORs were not far behind.
Notably, Texas is the only state with three AOR regions listed. San Antonio agents also arrested the 10th greatest number in the country of over 18,500.
The greatest number of alleged criminals arrested in the last three fiscal years are citizens of Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Peru, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The overwhelming majority of criminal convictions, nearly 88,000 stemming from ICE ERO arrests, are Mexicans.
The next greatest number charged with criminal convictions were citizens of Honduras (over 15,500), Guatemala (over 13,500), Dominican Republic (over 3,000), Nicaragua (over 2,000), and Colombia (over 2,000), according to the data.
The greatest number of pending charges are against Mexicans (over 17,000), Hondurans (over 6,000), Guatemalans (over 5,500), Nicaraguans (over 2,000), Venezuelans (over 1,500) and Columbians (nearly 1,500).
The greatest number of ICE ERO detainees are held in facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, and San Antonio, Texas, according to the report.
The greatest number of removals overall have occurred in Texas, primarily in the Rio Grande Valley of over 42,000. This also includes foreign nationals processed in other areas of the country who are flown to Harlingen, Texas.
The next greatest number of removals occurred by air from San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and El Paso.
Phoenix had the second greatest number of removals overall of over 30,000 and the greatest number of removals of illegal foreign nationals with criminal convictions by far of over 15,000. The next greatest number of foreign nationals with criminal convictions were removed from Dallas, Houston, El Paso, and San Antonio.
New Orleans had the fifth-highest number of removals overall, followed by Atlanta (8th-highest), Miami (9th-highest), and Chicago (10th-highest).
