Today's BJS report is definitely interesting. Despite the inflammatory headline from the press release, the data actually shows that when you exclude immigration arrests, there are actually FEWER arrests of non-citizens than in previous years.
Here's data from Table 2:
Of course, the data looks VERY different when you start counting immigration-related crimes like improper entry or illegal reentry. Under the Trump administration, prosecutions for these crimes have surged—making federal arrest numbers go way up.
Here's data from Table 2 again.
The report also shows that certain kinds of federal arrests are weighted towards U.S. citizens, while others are weighted towards non-citizens.
Federal immigration-related arrests? Overwhelmingly non-citizens.
Federal weapons arrests? Overwhelmingly U.S. citizens.
In many ways this report seem to fit squarely with what people like @AlexNowrasteh have been saying for years; when you exclude crimes which are incidental to immigration and the border, non-citizens already inside the U.S. are no more likely to commit crimes than citizens.
@AlexNowrasteh Another interesting tidbit? Table 11 breaks out immigration-related arrests across the 9 SW Border Sectors, and matches it with CBP data—showing that prosecutions bear little relationship to apprehensions.
Apprehensions going up =/= prosecutions going up, and vice versa.
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NEW: An ACLU filing sheds light on how "Andry," the gay make-up artist sent to rot in a prison in El Salvador, ended up labeled "Tren de Aragua" by ICE.
Documents filed by ICE shows that the ONLY evidence ICE listed for membership in TdA was a tattoo of a crown with "mom" below.
Here are the tattoos that ICE declared were evidence that Andry, a gay make-up artist who came to a port of entry seeking asylum from Venezuela, was a member of the vicious gang "Tren de Aragua."
I am not making this up. This is it. "Mom" and "Dad" with crowns over them.
The document, a gang questionnaire that was filled out when Andry was first detained by ICE, is maddening.
Andry keeps saying he has no connection with the gangs, yet the ICE officer filling out the form keeps writing in things suggesting he's linked to Tren de Aragua.
NEW: Another documents filed by the ACLU is an unclassified ICE document showing what it alleges are Tren de Aragua tattoos. The @nypost also published these in 2024.
But reverse image search shows these images were stolen from the internet and have nothing to do with TdA! 🧵
The "Jump-Man" imagine, which the New York Post claimed "refers to 23 de Enero ... a Venezuelan neighborhood" (it's Michael Jordan's number, guys), was first posted on Twitter in 2015 by a random Michael Jordan fan account.
The AK-47 tattoo posted in the ICE Homeland Security Investigations "intelligence report" appears to be taken from a random Turkish tattoo artist's profile.
NEW: @ACLU obtained ICE's "Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide," confirming all it takes to be sent to rot in prison in El Salvador is 1) having a tattoo an ICE officer says is a "gang tattoo" and 2) displaying "logos," "symbols," or clothes an ICE officer says are gang signs.
In order for ICE to declare someone an "Alien Enemy," ICE must first determine they are a Venezuelan over age 14, and then second find 8 points on a scoring guide they made up.
It's 4 points for having alleged gang tattoos and 4 points for displaying gang "logos" or "symbols."
This checklist is shocking. A person can be declared an "Alien Enemy" based ONLY on communications with someone ICE says is a member, and nothing more.
6 points for texting a "known member of TDA" + 3 points for Venmoing or CashApping a "known member" = 9 points = TDA member.
NEW: Judge Brinkema UNLOADED on ICE's "evidence" of TdA membership:
"This is a terrible, terrible affidavit. If this were before me in a criminal case and you were asking to get a warrant issued on this, I'd throw you out of my chambers."
Here's an example of the "rigorous vetting" of gang membership that the Trump admin claims it's doing:
A woman admitted that her dead ex-husband, who she left 10 years ago, had been a TdA member.
From that — and nothing more! — ICE declared she "is a senior member of the TDA."
Judge Brinkema, on ICE's "evidence" a woman was a Tren de Aragua member:
- "Terrible, terrible affidavit"
- "Very shoddy work"
- "No agent should do this type of editorializing, not when people's liberty is at stake"
- "This is assumptions and putting words in people's mouths."
NEW! The Trump administration appears to have sent a married father with NO CRIMINAL RECORD to rot in a prison in El Salvador because of a PAPERWORK ERROR.
This man doesn’t even have tattoos! But his paperwork has two different peoples’ ID numbers listed and the wrong last name!
More from the article: his family even got evidence from Venezuela proving he has no criminal record in that country either.
This adds yet another case to the growing list of examples of people seemingly sent to rot in prison in El Salvador due to the Trump admin's sloppiness.
ALSO: from this reporting, even if the paperwork errors didn't happen, Mr. Reyes Mota should not have been sent to El Salvador!
The President's proclamation applies only to MEMBERS of the gang. But here the accusation is that he "may" have been an "associate." Not even a member!
NEW: @MotherJones reports that one of the men renditioned to El Salvador is Neri Alvarado, who was working in Dallas as a baker. An ICE agent told him they were questioning all men with tattoos.
Neri has an AUTISM AWARENESS TATTOO in honor of his 15-year-old brother with autism.
An ICE agent told Neri Alvarado "We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos, and that's why he was arrested.
Stunningly, after Neri explained his autism tattoos' meanings, THE ICE AGENT SAID HE WAS CLEAN. And yet he stayed detained — then got sent to El Salvador!
Another man renditioned to El Salvador by the Trump admin has been identified as Arturo Suárez, a Venezuelan musician who first entered the US at a port of entry (not illegally). He has no criminal record here or in ANY country — but like Neri Alvarado and others, he has tattoos.