DHS has dismissed a report that ICE officers were instructed to stop arresting illegal migrants who have no criminal convictions.
Under the reported change, officers would arrest only the identified target.
The denial came after The Daily Wire reported on September 26 that ICE officers across the US had been told to stop arresting “non-criminals” for the time being. Citing agency sources, the report said ICE officers would instead focus on undocumented migrants with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. The reported guidance would also end so-called “collateral arrests”, in which ICE officers can detain other undocumented migrants encountered while pursuing a specific criminal target, according to The Daily Wire . No one is off the table,” DHS said. “Anyone in our country illegally will be arrested and deported,” DHS said, while describing its current operations as a nationwide public-safety surge in sanctuary cities. The department said ICE officers were targeting undocumented migrants accused or convicted of serious crimes, including murder, rape, child sexual offences and gang-related crimes. Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin separately said he had spoken to nine ICE and DHS insiders who described “verbal guidance” being sent to ICE offices to avoid arrests of non-criminal migrants.
“This is false. The department added that ICE would continue to arrest people who are unlawfully present in the US.
DHS has continued to announce arrests of illegal migrants with criminal convictions, while ICE recorded more than 50,000 arrests in August, according to data previously shared by DHS with The Daily Wire . The reported development comes amid a broader intensification of immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump.
Melugin said the guidance was later described as erroneous, with the situation attributed to a miscommunication over a policy of prioritising serious criminal offenders. Earlier reporting noted: The denial came after The Daily Wire reported on September 26 that ICE officers nationwide had been told to cease arrests of “non-criminals” for the time being. The report, citing agency sources, said officers could focus on immigrants with criminal convictions or charges and that those with final deportation orders but no criminal record would not be arrested. No one is off the table,” DHS said in a statement posted on X. The department said ICE would continue arresting people who are unlawfully present in the US. Earlier reporting noted: “Anyone in our country illegally will be arrested and deported,” the department said.
Earlier reporting noted: “This is false.