Biden Admin Accused Of Cooking ICE Arrest Numbers

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Homeland Security Department officials reveal the Biden administration artificially inflated ICE arrest numbers by counting migrants who were released rather than those who were actually detained and deported.

Quick Takes

  • ICE officials claim over two-thirds of Biden-era arrests were “enforcement theater” with migrants quickly released back into communities
  • Trump administration’s ICE has recorded 32,809 interior arrests in just seven weeks, nearly matching Biden’s entire 2024 total when excluding “pass-through” arrests
  • Current ICE arrests include 1,155 gang members and 39 suspected terrorists, nearly triple the rate under Biden
  • Border crossings have plummeted from over 60,000 in January to under 12,000 in February
  • Biden-era “pass-through” arrests helped illegal immigrants establish pathways to long-term residency in the U.S.

ICE Officials Expose “Cooking the Books” Under Biden

Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security have accused the Biden administration of deliberately inflating immigration enforcement statistics through questionable counting methods. According to these officials, the previous administration boosted arrest numbers by counting illegal immigrants who were briefly processed and released rather than those actually detained or deported. This practice resulted in misleading statistics that masked the true nature of immigration enforcement during Biden’s term.

Todd Lyons, acting director at ICE, provided detailed information about how the previous administration’s numbers were manipulated. “We found tens of thousands of cases that were recorded as arrests when, in fact, these instances were illegal aliens that were simply processed and released into American communities,” Lyons stated. A senior ICE official further claimed that over two-thirds of the arrests recorded last year were essentially “enforcement theater,” with illegal immigrants quickly released back into communities rather than facing genuine enforcement actions.

Trump Administration Shows Significant Enforcement Improvements

Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE’s enforcement metrics demonstrate substantial increases in effectiveness compared to the Biden era. In just the period from January 20 to March 10, ICE recorded 32,809 interior arrests, a figure that approaches the total for all of 2024 when excluding what officials term “pass-through” arrests. This represents a dramatic shift in enforcement priorities and effectiveness within the first months of the new administration.

“This gave them a pathway to establishing a long-term … residency here in the U.S.,” an official said.

The quality of enforcement actions has also improved significantly. Among the recent arrests were 1,155 known or suspected gang members and 39 known or suspected terrorists, representing nearly three times the rate of such high-priority arrests under the Biden administration. ICE interior arrests have more than doubled from an average of 234 per day under Biden to 632 per day under Trump, demonstrating a renewed focus on internal immigration enforcement.

Border Crisis Shows Signs of Improvement

Customs and Border Protection has reported a substantial decrease in unauthorized migrants entering from Mexico in recent weeks. The numbers have dropped from over 60,000 in January to 11,709 in February, indicating that border policies implemented by the Trump administration are having their intended effect. Similar decreases have been observed in unaccompanied alien children and family migrant categories, suggesting a comprehensive improvement in border security.

“This victory at our borders makes the past four years even more of a tragedy,” Rep. Mark Green said.

Despite these improvements, ICE officials report that detention facilities are currently at capacity, with 47,600 migrants being held. The agency is deporting approximately 645 people daily, which represents a 17% decrease from the same period in 2024. Officials attribute this reduction to fewer new illegal immigrants being apprehended at the border rather than any decrease in enforcement efforts. Rep. Mark Green has criticized the previous administration’s policies, citing tragic cases like the deaths of Laken Riley and Kayla Hamilton as consequences of catch-and-release practices.

Controversy Over “Pass-Through” Arrests

The directive to count “pass-through” arrests reportedly came directly from the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security. These controversial practices involved counting brief processing encounters as formal arrests, even when migrants were quickly released rather than detained. This methodology created statistical records that potentially misrepresented the true nature of immigration enforcement during that period.

ICE officials have explained that these pass-through arrests served purposes beyond statistical manipulation. Migrants could use documentation from these encounters to show they were in a legal process, qualifying them for various services and potentially aiding their efforts to establish long-term residency in the United States. This practice essentially transformed what should have been enforcement actions into pathways for continued illegal presence in the country.

Sources:

  1. DHS: Biden admin was ‘cooking the books’ to pump up ICE arrests – Washington Times
  2. DHS: Biden admin was ‘cooking the books’ to pump up ICE arrests – Washington Times

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