Immigration arrests in New York accelerate, with a sharp increase in Chinese and non-criminal arrests
The latest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest and deportation data show that the pattern of immigration arrests in New York City and surrounding areas has changed significantly since May this year. In addition to the increase in the total number of arrests, the arrests of Chinese citizens and those without criminal records have also increased.
The data comes from an analysis team called the Deportation Data Project, initiated by scholars and legal professionals. The team applied for and obtained the enforcement records of federal immigration enforcement agencies in the New York area from September 2023 to June 10 this year under the Freedom of Information Act. The geographical scope of the data source includes the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, and the five counties in the Hudson River Valley, and does not include the New Jersey and Connecticut suburbs belonging to the New York metropolitan area.
The data shows that between the beginning of this year and June, the New York branch of ICE arrested a total of 2,009 people, compared with 1,986 in the same period last year. However, in the first four months after Trump took office, the arrests were mainly targeted at undocumented immigrants with criminal records or prosecuted for crimes, and the actual number of arrests was less than the same period last year. However, since the Trump administration explicitly requested to increase the daily arrest target to 3,000 people in late May this year, immigration enforcement in the New York area has begun to expand. The total number of arrests in May increased by 46% year-on-year, from 281 last year to 409, and in the first ten days of June, the number of arrests reached 495. The peak occurred on June 3 and 4 this year, with 113 and 118 arrests per day respectively.
Not only did the number increase, but law enforcement officers also began to appear in sensitive areas such as outside the immigration court, which led to a surge in the number of non-criminal arrests. Data shows that in the first six months of this year, ICE arrested a total of 992 people in the New York area who were only involved in civil immigration violations, accounting for 49% of the total number of arrests. These arrests only involved illegal border crossings and other behaviors, and had no criminal record. In fact, the number of people with criminal convictions and pending criminal charges arrested in the New York area this year has nearly doubled compared with the same period last year. This trend is in line with Trump’s promise at the beginning of his term to “strengthen the fight against undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.” But data shows that after the arrest quota was issued in May, ICE changed its enforcement strategy and turned its arrest target to non-criminals.
According to identity statistics, the number of Ecuadorian citizens arrested in the New York area is the largest, accounting for 20.9% of the total number. It is worth noting that in the top ten list of countries of origin of the arrested, China ranks first among all non-Latin American countries. In the first six months of this year, a total of 103 Chinese citizens were arrested, an increase of 1044% compared with the same period last year.
However, it is not easy for people arrested in immigration enforcement to smoothly enter the legal process of deportation. According to data, 67% of all those arrested in the New York area this year have not yet been deported. As the number of arrests of non-criminals increased, the number of deportations has dropped significantly since April.
