Response from DHS on CBS Report Regarding Immigrant Arrests

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reacted to a CBS report suggesting that most illegal immigrants arrested during the Trump administration did not engage in “violent crimes.”

According to CBS’s Camilo Montoya Galvez, less than 14% of about 400,000 immigrants apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were charged or convicted of violent crimes, according to internal DHS documents.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin challenged the interpretation of those figures, arguing that the article minimized serious offenses by labeling them as “nonviolent.”

McLaughlin highlighted that offenses such as drug trafficking, child pornography distribution, robbery, fraud, and human smuggling are classified as “nonviolent crimes.” She pointed out that nearly 70% of illegal aliens arrested under the Trump administration have pending criminal charges or prior convictions.

In a follow-up post, she mentioned an individual, Edward Hernandez, arrested by ICE in Virginia, who, while considered a “non-criminal” due to lack of convictions in the U.S., is reportedly an MS-13 member who has admitted to committing five murders in El Salvador.

ICE’s official account also addressed the CBS article, criticizing its characterization of “non-violent” criminals. They stated that almost 70% of criminal aliens in ICE custody face pending or previous convictions for serious crimes.

The CBS piece did acknowledge that around 60% of illegal immigrants apprehended by ICE have criminal charges or convictions, but it also noted that many were arrested for civil immigration violations.

While the CBS report claimed that “less than 14%” of arrested illegal immigrants had “violent criminal histories,” it did reference that “nearly 60% of ICE arrests in the past year resulted in criminal charges or convictions,” including offenses like drunk driving and kidnapping.

The report included 393,000 arrests from January 21, 2025, to January 31 of the current year.