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Data shows that 45 percent of immigration arrests since 2025 involved people without criminal convictions or pending criminal cases.
FILE – Federal law enforcement officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) conduct a traffic stop and detain people, Nov. 17, 2025, in Washington. AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File
Just under half of immigration arrests in Massachusetts since the beginning of the current Trump Administration involved people without criminal convictions or charges, according to a new report.
Data released by the Deportation Data Project shows that about 45 percent of immigration arrests from last year through early March 2026 involved people without criminal convictions or pending criminal cases.
The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly claimed that 70 percent of immigration arrests involve someone who either has a criminal conviction or has been charged with a crime. The project’s data shows that figure is just 54 percent.
Liz Sweet, the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said the data mirrors the trend of immigration enforcement in the state, including at courthouses.
When reached for comment, a DHS spokesperson reiterated the 70 percent figure.
“This data is being cherry picked by the Deportation Data Project to peddle a false narrative,” the spokesperson said. “We are continuing to go after the worst of the worst — including gang members, pedophiles, and rapists.”
Just over 7,000 people were detained by immigration agents in Massachusetts in 2025 and so far in 2026, according to the Deportation Data Project, which is led by academics and lawyers.
Of those arrests, 3,220 were classified as “other immigration violators.” More than 1,300 people were “convicted criminals,” according to the data set, while 2,453 had “pending criminal charges.” The status of 49 people was left blank.
While about 40 percent of the apprehensions were unclassified, nearly 900 were “collateral” and more than 3,300 were “targeted” arrests, according to the report.
“We see a lot of street level enforcement happening where ICE may be going out targeting a particular individual, but they’re often picking up a lot of other people and stopping other individuals,” Sweet said. “Once that happens to them, they are facing an immigration judge, and proceedings to remove them from this country, regardless of any criminal history.”
Collateral arrests are “significant” in Massachusetts, Sweet said. More than 75 percent of those collateral arrests involved people without criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, according to the data.
Federal immigration officials said some of the individuals classified as not convicted criminals or with criminal charges
“Many of the individuals that are counted as ‘non-criminals’ are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more; they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S.,” the DHS spokesperson said. “Further, every single one of these individuals committed a crime when they came into this country illegally.”
DHS doubled down that the Deportation Data Project “is not accurate,” saying the data comes from “information releases that have not been reviewed, audited or given context.” According to the project, the data is obtained through records requests from the government or posted by the government.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric around who they’re arresting, and it’s simply not supported by the data,” Sweet told Boston.com. “There is a different story being told to the public that is simply not true.”
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
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