According to the latest analysis conducted by the Deportation Data Project based on federal records provided by THE CITY, the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants in New York City and surrounding areas has rapidly increased in the past few weeks, with the number of non-criminal arrests exceeding the number of criminal arrests.
The data, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by a team of lawyers and scholars, includes 7,619 arrest incidents from September 2023 to June 10 of this year at the New York City office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The enforcement jurisdiction of this ICE office covers the five boroughs of New York City, as well as nine counties in New York state including Dutchess, Nassau, Putnam, Suffolk, Sullivan, Orange, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester.
The data shows that from January to early June this year, the total number of ICE arrests in New York City was 2,009 people, which is roughly on par with 2024. However, the number of arrests started to surge thereafter.
From January to April, the ICE actions in New York City mainly targeted individuals with criminal convictions or charges, and the actual number of arrests during the same period was lower than in 2024.
In May, there was a sudden change in the situation as the number of arrests by the New York City ICE increased by 46% to 409 people, compared to 281 arrests during the same period last year.
In the first ten days of June, ICE agents in New York City arrested 495 people, more than double the total arrests for the entire month of June last year. This number is nearly seven times the number of arrests in the first ten days of June last year (73 people), with over 110 arrests on both June 3rd and 4th, the highest single-day arrest numbers in nearly two years.
Furthermore, since May, ICE agents in New York City have been appearing more frequently in courts and at ICE registration points to arrest individuals without criminal records or pending charges.
A total of 992 people have been arrested by ICE special agents in New York for civil immigration violations this year, accounting for 49% of all arrests of undocumented immigrants.
Lawyers and advocates monitoring immigration courts stated that starting from June 10th, the arrest operations at the New York Immigration Court in Federal Plaza 26 have escalated further, with dozens of people being arrested daily.
The data indicates that so far this year, the number of arrests with criminal convictions has increased by 143% to 675 people (from 278 people last year), and the number of arrests facing criminal charges has increased by 178% to 342 people (from 123 people last year). However, after ICE intensified arrests at courts and ICE registration points targeting non-criminal undocumented immigrants starting in mid-May, this trend has reversed.
In May, the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants solely for civil immigration violations (without criminal records) surged to 223 people, while the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions or pending charges was 186.
This discrepancy became more apparent in June, as in the first ten days of June, New York ICE conducted 360 non-criminal arrests, while arrests associated with criminal activities were only 135. Just in the week of June 2nd, 299 undocumented immigrants with only civil immigration violation records were arrested. On June 3rd and 4th, ICE officers arrested 231 undocumented immigrants at check-in points, out of which 193 people (84%) had no criminal records or pending charges.
Earlier on May 28th, ICE officers made arrests at courts, where non-criminal arrests accounted for 75% of the total arrests. Out of the 68 individuals arrested that day, 51 had no criminal records or pending charges.
The data does not specify whether those charged with crimes or convicted individuals have committed misdemeanors or felonies.