According to the very agency he heads, this is the “number of DACA requestors approved with a prior arrest” meaning that they were granted DACA despite the arrest. Another way of putting it is, even DHS doesn’t think these arrests are a very big deal.
Also, and here I’ll just quote from the USCIS statistical report, since the agency that Cuccinelli heads put it as well as I can:
"An arrest indicates the individual was arrested or apprehended only and does not mean the individual was convicted of a crime."
"Further, individuals may not have been charged with a crime resulting from the arrest, may have had their charges reduced or dismissed entirely, or may have been acquitted of any charges.” See uscis.gov/sites/default/…
In other words, Cucinnelli either doesn’t understand the difference between an arrest & a conviction or he doesn’t care.
Either way, it’s disingenuous at best, a lie at worst, and nothing new for sure.
Let me go on because this is a truly ridiculous claim that Trump also made. The USCIS data offers a breakdown of specific crimes of arrest. The single largest category, 38.9%, of these arrests were for “Driving-related (excl. DUI).” That’s how the government describes these.
It then defines that category: "'Driving-related (excl. DUI)' offenses include driving without a valid license, moving and non-moving violations, and speeding, among others."
Another 22.05% were for offenses described as “Immigration-related (incl. civil and criminal offenses).” That is defined to "include visa overstays, immigration holds, and removal and deportation proceedings, among others."
Let me do the math for Cucinelli & Trump. 61% of the people who were arrested before DHS granted them DACA were arrested for nothing more serious than a driving violation or an offense related to the fact that they lack the government’s authorization to be in the US.
