The DHS released a database purporting to list the "worst of the worst" arrested by ICE, but the data show that only 4% of ICE arrests fall into that category. Independent analyses by the Cato Institute’s David Bier find many on the DHS list have no violent convictions, and recent booking data show 73% of detainees had no criminal convictions. Lawmakers cited cases such as veteran Sae Joon Park and an Irish immigrant detained over small-scale check fraud to challenge DHS enforcement priorities.
Most on DHS 'Worst of the Worst' List Aren't Violent — What ICE Is Really Arresting
Holden Smith/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week published a database it called a catalog of the "worst of the worst" criminal aliens arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But the data — and independent analyses — show that a large share of people on the list and in ICE custody are not convicted violent offenders, raising questions about the scope and targets of recent enforcement operations.
Key Findings From DHS Data And Independent Analyses
According to an analysis by David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, ICE made roughly 281,000 arrests between January 20 and December 9. Fewer than 10,000 of those arrested are listed by DHS as the "worst of the worst," roughly 4% of the total.
Bier found that a majority of names on the DHS list — about 56% — have not been charged with or convicted of a violent crime. Nearly a quarter were included only for vice offenses, immigration violations (such as illegal entry), or non-DUI traffic infractions. Thousands were added to DHS lists for comparatively minor offenses such as drug possession.
Earlier work by Bier looking at immigration arrests from October 1, 2024 through June 14, 2025 found that 65% of people arrested by ICE had no criminal convictions and 93% had no record of violent convictions. More recent ICE booking data since October 1 show 73% of those in custody had no criminal convictions and only 5% had violent convictions. Bier’s estimates suggested a somewhat higher share of violent offenders in custody than the DHS database does, but both data sources emphasize that most people targeted by the administration’s raids are not convicted violent criminals.
Human Cases Highlight The Tension
The contrast between DHS messaging and enforcement outcomes was underscored at a House Homeland Security hearing where Representative Seth Magaziner (D–R.I.) questioned DHS Secretary Kristi Noem about specific cases.
One featured case was Sae Joon Park, a U.S. Army combat veteran and green-card holder who received a Purple Heart after being shot while deployed to Panama in 1989. After an honorable discharge, Park developed post-traumatic stress, struggled with addiction and pleaded guilty to drug possession in 2007. He served three years in prison and later received a removal order, but remained in the U.S. with periodic ICE check-ins until officials in June fitted him with an ankle monitor and told him to self-deport within three weeks. He has since traveled to South Korea, where he had not lived since childhood.
Magaziner also raised the case of an Irish woman who legally immigrated to the U.S. decades ago and faces removal for writing two bad checks totaling $80 about a decade ago; she has been detained for roughly four months, according to lawmakers.
Administration Response And Criticism
Secretary Noem defended DHS enforcement, saying it is not her role to "pick and choose which laws in [the United States] get enforced," and argued that laws must be followed. Critics and some lawmakers counter that DHS leaders have significant prosecutorial discretion in individual cases and that the agency's current approach is inconsistent with the administration's stated focus on violent offenders.
Advocates and some members of Congress say the agency is using a relatively small number of violent offenders to justify broad enforcement tactics that have produced allegations of excessive force, due-process failures, and overcrowded or inhumane detention conditions. Those critics also link the enforcement surge to the Trump administration's stated goal of deporting 1 million people by the end of the year.
What This Means
The new DHS database and independent analyses indicate a clear disconnect between public messaging and enforcement outcomes: only a small share of persons arrested by ICE meet the "worst of the worst" label, while a substantial portion of arrests and detentions involve individuals with no record of violent convictions. That gap has prompted renewed scrutiny from policymakers, advocates and reporters about priorities, discretion and human costs in immigration enforcement.
Bottom line: The DHS list confirms that most people swept up in recent ICE operations are not convicted violent criminals, intensifying the debate over enforcement priorities and civil‑liberties impacts.
