SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — There's a lot of talk around President Donald Trump's immigration policies and mass deportations. But a first look at the data of what's actually happening tells a story that's not always on par with statements from the administration.
"The actual results seem a bit inconsistent with the actual priorities of the current administration," said Susan Long.
Long is the co-founder of a nonpartisan nonprofit called the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse or TRAC.
"Our purpose has been to make data available on the day to day actions of the federal government to the public."
Records from TRAC show that since President Trump came into office, a lot more people have been detained by immigration and customs enforcement.As of this week, more than 43,000 people were being held by ICE in detention centers. It's the highest number we've seen since 2019. But the average number of daily ICE deportations has actually declined under Trump.
Long says recent numbers also show a majority of ICE detainees, 52%, don't have a criminal record.
"What constitutes as a criminal record?"
"Just about anything: speeding on a federal parkway. The fact they've got absolutely nothing is quite remarkable."
Long says most of the ICE detainees with a criminal record have only minor offenses. This contradicts recent statements from border czar Tom Homan who has said he wants to prioritize arresting undocumented immigrants who are threats to public safety and national security.
The data also showed that California has more than 3,000 people in ICE detention.Almost 46% of them are in San Diego's Otay Mesa Detention Center, which is holding the fifth most detained immigrants in the country.
