President Donald Trump's White House sought to brag about everything that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is doing to protect public safety, but NBC News put a damper on the boast with a review of the actual data.
"70% of those arrested under President Trump’s ICE had criminal convictions or pending charges," wrote the White House's official account on X last week. "We’re talking murderers, rapists, and child predators. This is what leadership looks like. No more catch-and-release — ONLY CATCH AND DEPORT!"
But NBC News' Ken Dilanian took to X on Monday to reveal some details the White House was not being upfront about.
"NBC News fact check: Of those arrested, 752 – or 0.4% — were convicted of murder and 3,390 — or 1.8% — were convicted of or facing pending sexual assault charges," wrote Dilanian, citing reports from Laura Strickler.
This comes following a report on the population of immigrant detainees being sent to the controversial new "Alligator Alcatraz" facility in the Florida Everglades, which state officials had characterized as the "worst of the worst" but in reality turned out in many cases to be people who were pulled over in traffic stops and weren't a violent risk to the public.
It also comes after reports that the quotas the Trump administration is placing on ICE agents for arrest numbers are so taxing that it is forcing the agency to abandon more time-consuming and dangerous investigations of violent gang members, and focus on rounding up day laborers from Home Depots and other sites.
