Case Explained: Most immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal history, data reveal – Legal Perspective

A new analysis of U.S. government records published by The Guardian found that the vast majority of people who were targeted for deportation for the first time in 2025 had no criminal conviction, undercutting the Trump administration’s claims that its sweeping immigration enforcement crackdown is focused on arresting “dangerous criminals.” 

The Guardian’s reporting is based on data it obtained with free legal support from attorneys at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the news outlet’s behalf last year. 

The Guardian’s review of deportation data released in response to the lawsuit offers “one of the most granular pictures yet of the criminal records of the tens of thousands of people swept up in DHS’s massive deportation campaign,” reported Guardian U.S. Data Editor Will Craft. 

The news outlet found that only 23% of people against whom the administration initiated deportation proceedings during most of 2025 had ever been convicted of a crime, and among those, nearly half were convictions for traffic or immigration offenses, not violent crimes.  

“The public has a right to know whether the Trump administration’s rhetoric has a basis in reality,” said Reporters Committee Director of National Litigation Adam Marshall. “These now-public records make clear that the federal government’s enforcement operations are in many cases targeting individuals with no criminal history. As The Guardian’s reporting shows, the government’s own data undercuts the claims being made by the administration.”  

Last May, Craft submitted a FOIA request to ICE seeking, among other information, documents known as I-213 forms, which the agency uses to prove that a person is eligible for deportation. But after acknowledging receipt of the request, the agency went quiet. The next month, The Guardian sued ICE for the records, represented by Marshall as well as Reporters Committee attorney Gunita Singh and legal fellow Rachel Seller.

According to The Guardian, the government turned over data extracted from nearly 140,000 I-213 forms from January to mid-August 2025. 

ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to The Guardian’s requests for comment, the news outlet reported.

The lawsuit is just one example of how Reporters Committee attorneys are helping journalists overcome legal hurdles to report on the federal government’s mass deportation effort and its impact on communities nationwide. 

In the past year alone, the Reporters Committee has urged federal courts across the country to drop restrictions on access to immigration records; repeatedly called for DHS to adopt policies to prevent the arrest or injury of journalists covering immigration enforcement and related protests; helped journalists and news organizations fight legal battles for records that could shed light on enforcement actions; and published a new guide, available in English and Spanish, to help journalists understand legal issues they may encounter while reporting on immigration enforcement and deportation.

Check out The Guardian’s reporting to read more about its analysis of the ICE data.