Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
New data out from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University finds that very few immigrants faced deportation hearings based on alleged criminal activity.
In February 2026, the Department of Homeland Security sought the basis of removal for 741 individuals based on what the agency said was alleged criminal activity.
This makes up only 2% of all so-called “notices to appear” (NTA) that DHS filed that month. NTAs officially begin removal proceedings against an individual in U.S. immigration court.
The remaining 98% of NTAs filed only involved claims of individuals violating immigration rules, including entry without inspection or overstaying a visa.
TRAC said the data emphasizes that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown has not been limited to “the worst of the worst,” as originally campaigned on.
These NTA numbers are lower now than they were when President Trump first returned to office last year. DHS filed 821 charging documents based on claims of criminal activity in February 2025. This year’s numbers are also lower than the peak during the Biden administration.
TRAC, which has tracked NTA filings over the past quarter century, said the data reveals a long term trend of a decline in both the number and proportion of new immigration court cases that cite criminal-related grounds as a reason for removal from the U.S.
A report released earlier this year from The Annenberg Public Policy Center also found that as arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased, a higher portion of those detained had no prior criminal convictions or charges.
