Washington Post Discovers Illegal Immigrants Don’t Need Criminal Records for Deportation

Washington Post Discovers Illegal Immigrants Don’t Need Criminal Records for Deportation

The Washington Post was incensed to learn that nearly 40% of the illegal aliens detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since President Donald Trump returned to office have no criminal records.

Moreover, the outlet’s analysis of data obtained and published by the Deportation Data Project found that the share of ICE detainees without criminal records has been steadily increasing. In July alone, more than half of those arrested by ICE had no criminal histories.

For an administration that vowed to pursue the “worst of the worst” — illegal aliens who had committed the most heinous crimes — the Post portrayed these numbers as evidence of a disturbing new low.

According to the Post, the trend comes as ICE works to meet enforcement targets set by the Trump administration.

As Julia Gelatt, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, sees it:

There is pressure on ICE to arrest more people and that leads them to stop trying to go after the worst of the worst and arrest the person who is easiest to locate on any given day. When Americans think of who they’d like to see ICE focus on, they think bad guys — murders and others serious criminals. They do not think about people who broke immigration laws and are otherwise law-abiding.

Additionally, the article emphasizes that many detainees “entered the country legally, for example, on a visa that has since expired.” Because overstaying a visa is a civil immigration violation rather than a criminal offense, the authors take particular issue with ICE’s increasing focus on apprehending visa overstayers.

ICE has arrested more than half a million people since President Trump returned to office, and nearly 40 percent do not have a criminal record.

As of Aug. 6, ICE had detained more people without a criminal record this year than in all of 2025. https://t.co/HkeORNeWvK pic.twitter.com/XV70fTNJQZ

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 29, 2026

This article is problematic on several levels. Most importantly, those who enter the U.S. illegally have already violated federal immigration law and are subject to arrest and detention by ICE. Unless and until Congress changes those laws, the Department of Homeland Security has the duty to enforce them.

As Fox News’ Bill Melugin noted on X:

Crossing the border illegally is a federal crime via 8 USC 1325.

Overstaying a visa is a civil offense.

Being unlawfully present in the U.S. is a civil offense.

But none of these semantics matter, because any of the above can result in ICE detention.

There is no requirement under US law that an alien must have a criminal record before being detained by ICE. There never has been.

ICE also does not need a judicial warrant to make arrests. (Unless they’re entering private property like a home).

All they need is reasonable suspicion that an alien is unlawfully present in the country.

Bottom line, all aliens who violate US immigration law are subject to ICE arrest and detention. This is how the law has been for decades.

Crossing the border illegally is a federal crime via 8 USC 1325. 5 year statute of limitation for first time offense.

Overstaying a visa is a civil offense.

Being unlawfully present in the U.S. is a civil offense.

But none of these semantics matter, because any of the above… https://t.co/NWNXRQ9Ok5

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 29, 2026

Second, the Biden administration chose to ignore these laws, allowing millions of illegal and unvetted immigrants to cross our open border. Now that they’re here, Democrats have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep them here. In their view, they should not only be allowed to stay, but because America is a compassionate nation, U.S. taxpayers should be expected to provide them with food, shelter, medical care, even education — and, ultimately, a path to citizenship.

Deporting such a vast number of people was never going to be easy, nor was it ever going to be bloodless in political terms. But for the good of the nation — and the preservation of constitutional order — the Trump administration must press forward without apology or retreat. A nation unwilling to enforce its immigration laws will inevitably forfeit its sovereignty.

Third, the flip side of these numbers — that more than 60% of ICE detainees do have criminal records — is far more concerning. Until ICE took them into custody, hundreds of thousands of criminal aliens were roaming freely in communities across the country, posing a very real threat to public safety.

Finally, the Post ignores the fact that most other nations routinely detain and deport illegal aliens. Japan, for instance, treats illegal immigration as a serious criminal offense. Its government actively enforces the “Zero Illegal Residents Plan, an aggressive government package launched to eliminate undocumented residency entirely.”

According to British media outlet GB News, Australia has implemented very strict laws for undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. Under policies like “Operation Sovereign Borders,” the country enforces mandatory immigration detention, turns back unauthorized boats at sea, and utilizes offshore processing facilities rather than allowing unvetted arrivals to settle on the mainland.

Try crossing North Korea’s border without authorization, and you might get shot.

At the other end of the spectrum, years of unchecked immigration — the very approach the Post would have America emulate — have transformed the U.K., Germany, and much of Europe. Those nations are now reaping the unintended consequences of what they have sown.

Ultimately, the Post’s outrage rests on a false premise: that immigration enforcement is justified only when the person being removed has committed some additional crime. It is not. Immigration laws are laws, and a government that selectively enforces them based on political pressure or public sympathy undermines the rule of law itself. The Trump administration was elected in large part to restore order after four years of unprecedented open borders. It should not be shamed into abandoning that mandate simply because enforcing the law is difficult, unpleasant, or politically controversial.

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