{"id":173304,"date":"2026-02-20T19:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/173304\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T19:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:59:08","slug":"in-south-texas-61-of-ice-detainees-have-no-criminal-convictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/173304\/","title":{"rendered":"In South Texas, 61% of ICE detainees have no criminal convictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Masked ICE agents lead a crying man in handcuffs out of San Antonio immigration courtroom after he showed up for his hearing. Credit: Sanford Nowlin<\/p>\n

The majority of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in South Texas have no criminal convictions other than the civil infraction of being undocumented, new numbers from the nonprofit Deportation Data Project show<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Indeed, 61% of those detained by ICE\u2019s San Antonio Field Office during during the first nine months of President Trump\u2019s second term had no criminal record \u2014\u00a0a figure that flies in the face of administration claims that its immigration crackdown targets the \u201cworst of the worst\u201d criminals who enter the country illegally. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The San Antonio Field Office, which covers 36 counties across South and Central Texas, made 11,652 arrests during the first nine months of Trump\u2019s current term, according to Deportation Data Project\u2019s analysis. That\u2019s more than double the amount the Biden White House made from Jan. 20 to Oct. 15 of 2024.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe Deportation Data Project, a project of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, collects and posts public, anonymized U.S. government immigration data sets and other statistics gathered through Freedom of Information Act requests.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s data collection also shows an increase in the number of people being arrested in South Texas who have no criminal convictions.<\/p>\n

The current 61% rate for people without criminal charges compares to 51% in July, when the nonprofit dropped a data set for first six months of Trump\u2019s second term, as previously reported by the Current<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new analysis about ICE\u2019s South Texas arrests comes mere weeks after Atlanta-based Oakmont Industrial Group sold a 640,000-square-foot warehouse<\/a> on San Antonio\u2019s East Side to the agency to use as a processing center for people it arrests.<\/p>\n

During a Thursday town hall, District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, whose district includes the warehouse, said City Council and the City Attorney\u2019s Office are seeking legal pathways to hinder ICE\u2019s ability to open the detention site.<\/p>\n

\u200b \u201cI think we as a community know that we have to do everything in our power to keep ourselves safe, but I also don\u2019t want it to be forgotten that you have rights,\u201d McKee-Rodriguez said. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be expected to act outside of your rights when ICE officers, police officers, or any agent who\u2019s supposed to protect and serve you seeks to violate those rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, tech publication Wired reported that ICE is looking to lease office space <\/a>at 15727 Anthem Parkway on the Northwest side.<\/p>\n

That building\u2019s owner this week told TV station KSAT<\/a> that the General Services Administration, which works to secure real-estate leases for the federal government, toured the building three to six months ago. However, the company hadn\u2019t signed any official lease as of press time.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"ICE\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tICE\u2019s lack of clarity comes as concern builds nationwide about the feds targeting large events for immigration roundups. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Two-month-old\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe baby and his family, held in the Dilley site south of San Antonio, were reportedly \u2018abandoned\u2019 at the border with the money left in their commissary account \u2014 or just $190.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"New\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe new facility would be across the highway from UT-San Antonio\u2019s main campus and walking distance from Methodist Hospital Landmark.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>\n

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