Ledger · 2024 campaign · № 221
Deport only 'the worst of the worst' — criminals first
Broken“[paraphrase] We're getting the criminals out first — murderers, drug dealers, the worst of the worst.”
- Promised
- , Campaign rallies and post-election interviews
- Re-promised
- 25 times with a fresh deadline
- Topic
- Immigration
- Era
- 2024 campaign
What happened
Nonpublic ICE data obtained by the Cato Institute in June 2025 showed a majority of detainees had no criminal conviction and 93% had no violent conviction. By December 2025, about 74% of the nearly 70,000 people in ICE detention had no criminal convictions at all. Enforcement shifted to courthouse, worksite and street arrests of people with no records.