WashingtonThe Department of Homeland Security reports that between June 6 and June 22, immigration enforcement teams in Los Angeles and nearby Southern California apprehended 1,618 aliens for deportation.
Requests for statistics on the percentage of those arrested with criminal records and a breakdown of those convictions were not answered by DHS.
Demonstrators have criticized the federal government’s conduct while immigration arrests have taken place around Southern California, and spectators have occasionally confronted immigration authorities or recorded their acts on camera. According to a DHS representative, 787 persons were detained for assault, obstruction, and unlawful assembly between June 6 and June 22.
Approximately one-third of individuals arrested until that time had prior felony records, according to statistics concerning the Los Angeles operation that the White House disclosed on June 11.
The Los Angeles metropolitan region, the Central Coast, Orange County to the south, Riverside County to the east, and San Luis Obispo County along the coast are all included in the Los Angeles field office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s area of responsibility.
California
Data contradicts the Trump administration’s assertion that the sweeps were intended for criminals.
Most of those arrested had never been charged with or found guilty of a crime, according to data from the early days of the Los Angeles enforcement effort.
According to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, immigrants with criminal records or outstanding charges have accounted for 75% of all arrests made nationwide during the Trump administration. However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics indicates that number has decreased in recent weeks.
According to nonpublic data gathered by the Cato Institute, the number of persons arrested nationwide without a criminal record has increased dramatically, and many of them are nonviolent offenders. The data spans the time frame from last October 1, when the federal fiscal year began, to June 15. Traffic and immigration violations are the most common crimes.
According to Cato, just 7% of people in custody are serious violent offenders.
In an attempt to fulfill President Trump’s pledge of mass deportations, immigration enforcement officials have recently stepped up their efforts. This has resulted in arrests throughout California, including in Home Depot parking lots, courthouses, and farms.
However, administration officials continue to lament that agents are not making enough arrests of immigrants, despite the agency’s daily target of 3,000 arrests nationally.
Politics
The White House claims that efforts to capture undocumented individuals in sanctuary areas will only grow as it is dissatisfied with the amount of deportations that have occurred thus far.
Leaders of the immigrant community and Democrats contend that agents are arbitrarily targeting individuals. DHS made 1,618 arrests in southern California over the course of more than two weeks, which is roughly 101 arrests per day, notwithstanding the chaotic nature of the raids and protests in Los Angeles. This is a comparatively minor contribution to the daily nationwide objective.
Advocates claim that the anxiety that such measures have aroused is maybe a greater accomplishment than the arrests themselves.
This report was written by Rachel Uranga, a staff writer for the Times.
