Key Takeaway: DHS denied reports that ICE was ordered to limit arrests to migrants with criminal records, posting on X that "No one is off the table." Reports from the Daily Wire and CBS said guidance briefly focused on those with convictions but was quickly rescinded. DHS says ICE has launched a nationwide public safety surge in sanctuary cities and that broader enforcement policy remains unchanged. TRAC data show about 70% of roughly 65,000 migrants detained as of July had no criminal convictions.
DHS Denies Report That ICE Was Told To Limit Migrant Arrests: "No One Is Off The Table"
Tom Homan (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday rejected reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were instructed to restrict arrests to migrants with prior criminal records, saying enforcement remains broad and unchanged.
What DHS Said
In a post on X responding to a Daily Wire article, DHS wrote:
"This is false. No one is off the table. We will continue to arrest any and all illegal aliens that come into our path."The department added: "Anyone in our country illegally will be arrested and deported."
Conflicting Reports
The Daily Wire reported that multiple ICE officers received guidance to limit arrests to migrants with criminal histories. CBS News immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez also tweeted that ICE sources said officers briefly received similar guidance focused on those with criminal records, but that the directives were "quickly rolled back." (Daily Wire; CBS)
Enforcement Policy And Context
DHS insists the Biden administration's stated immigration enforcement priorities remain intact and that ICE has launched a "nationwide public safety surge" targeting sanctuary cities. According to DHS, agents are concentrating on migrants described as criminally dangerous, including "murderers, rapists, child predators, and gang members."
Border adviser Tom Homan has emphasized that migrants encountered by ICE are not automatically exempt from enforcement. "If you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table," he said earlier this year.
Political Reaction And Data
The reports surfaced amid Republican concern about the scope of enforcement ahead of the midterm elections. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) warned in a campaign ad that some enforcement tactics "have gone too far," saying Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 now "feel betrayed." Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pushed back on such criticism, telling CNN that political pressure would not keep DHS from doing its job.
Published data cited by the Washington Examiner and analyzed by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) indicate that about 70% of roughly 65,000 migrants detained by ICE while awaiting deportation proceedings as of July did not have criminal convictions—an element that has shaped public debate about enforcement priorities.
Bottom Line
Despite initial reports of temporary guidance limiting arrests to migrants with criminal histories, DHS's public position was unambiguous: enforcement will remain broad. "No one is off the table," the department said, reiterating that ICE agents will continue to detain and deport individuals encountered unlawfully in the United States.
Help us improve.
