Most Immigrants Detained by ICE in Michigan Have No Criminal Record

According to a report in the Detroit Metro Times, ICE has arrested more than 1,430 people in Michigan between January 21 and July 31 during the Trump administration, most of whom have no criminal convictions.

The total is much higher compared to the 523 detained during the same period under the Biden administration. Most importantly, although Trump says his administration is only looking for criminals, only 420, less than 30%, have been convicted of a crime. another 30% have pending charges, mostly minor traffic charges such as driving without a license, and most notably, 40% have never been convicted of any crime. In addition, 11 children have been arrested, including a 4-year-old girl.

Obviously, statistics don't lie, but that doesn't stop the Trump administration from continuing to shout that its agents are arresting only criminals and the worst people, even though that's not true. In comparison, during the same period under the Biden administration, a higher percentage of those detained had criminal records, and less than 25% had no criminal record.

This clearly shows that Trumpers are arresting immigrants with no criminal record at a much higher rate than during the Biden era.

Nationwide, the number of immigrants arrested by ICE without criminal records rose from approximately 860 to 7,800 in June, an increase of more than 800%.

Most of those arrested in Michigan were men, with only 86 women, and although people from dozens of countries have been arrested, most were from Central and South America. 

Thirty-seven percent were from Mexico, 17% from Venezuela, and 8% from Honduras.

It is important for the public to know the truth. Although Trump insists that he is making the country safer by getting rid of criminals, the truth is that most of them have no criminal record, and those who do have mostly minor traffic offenses. The public should know this.

‍

GOOD NEWS FOR VENEZUELANS

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Venezuelan immigrants, stating that Trump cannot use the Alien Enemy Act to deport them.

In a 2-1 decision, the 5th Circuit Court, one of the most conservative, ruled in favor of the immigrants, ruling that Trump cannot use this 18th-century wartime law to expedite the deportation of those he accuses of being part of the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua.

Lawyers from the ACLU and other pro-immigrant groups argued that the Alien Enemy Act of 1798 was not intended to be used against groups such as gangs, even though Trump used it to justify doing so, but specifically for situations of actual war. “The use of a wartime law in peacetime to regulate immigration was correctly blocked by the court,” celebrated ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt. “This is a landmark decision that limits the administration's view that it can declare an emergency without judicial oversight.”

A few weeks ago, the government deported Venezuelans designated as members of the Tren de Aragua to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador called CECOT, where they were allegedly tortured.Later, more than 250 of the Venezuelan immigrants were sent back to their country. The Trump administration unsuccessfully argued that the court cannot question the president's determination that the Tren de Aragua is involved with the Venezuelan government and posed a danger to the United States, trying to justify the use of a wartime law.

This decision will surely be appealed to the full 5th Circuit Court, although it may also go directly to the Supreme Court in Washington, which will likely make the final decision.

There was also another decision in favor of Venezuelans in the 9th Circuit Court of California, which decided to reinstate the TPS program for some Venezuelans that was suspended several weeks ago. In the coming weeks, we will discuss this, which represents an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans registered in the TPS, at least until the Supreme Court decides.