Washington, D.C. - March 12, 2025 - Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have accused the Biden administration of manipulating immigration arrest statistics during its tenure, which ended in January 2025. According to a comprehensive internal review, the previous administration allegedly "cooked the books" by inflating ICE arrest numbers, misleading the American public about the scale and nature of immigration enforcement actions.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, detailed how the Biden administration categorized tens of thousands of migrants who were merely processed and released into the U.S. interior as "ICE arrests." "They were purposely misleading the American people," Lyons stated, emphasizing that these instances did not reflect actual enforcement actions. "We found cases recorded as arrests when, in fact, these were illegal aliens simply processed and released into American communities."
The allegations come as the Trump administration, now in its second term, ramps up immigration enforcement efforts following a campaign promise to address what it describes as a border crisis inherited from its predecessor. ICE officials reported that arrests under the current administration have already surpassed the total for fiscal year 2024, with Lyons noting a shift toward "actual immigration enforcement, not enforcement theater." Unlike the Biden-era figures, officials claim that none of the recent arrests involve so-called "pass-through" cases, where migrants were released without further action.
Data from the review suggests that of the 113,431 arrests reported by ICE in fiscal year 2024, the majority were pass-through arrests, with only 33,242 classified as "at-large" arrests—those involving enforcement actions in the nation's interior. In contrast, from January 20 to March 10, 2025, ICE recorded 32,809 arrests, a figure set to exceed the previous year's at-large total within days. This surge aligns with the Trump administration's aggressive raids in sanctuary cities and a significant drop in illegal border crossings, which officials attribute to heightened enforcement rhetoric and policy shifts.
Critics of the Biden administration's approach have long argued that its immigration policies prioritized optics over substance. The newly uncovered discrepancies lend credence to claims that the reported arrest numbers masked a broader strategy of catch-and-release, a practice that saw many migrants directed to report to ICE offices later rather than face immediate detention or deportation. "What we are doing now is taking enforcement actions on each and every illegal alien arrested," a senior ICE official remarked, drawing a sharp distinction from the previous administration's methods.
The Biden White House, which declined to comment on the allegations, had faced scrutiny during its term for a perceived leniency on immigration enforcement, particularly as border encounters reached historic highs. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's early actions—including reversing Biden-era parole programs and repurposing the CBP One app to encourage self-deportations—signal a stark policy pivot aimed at fulfilling its pledge of a "historic" deportation campaign.
As the debate over immigration data intensifies, the revelations raise questions about transparency and accountability in federal immigration statistics. With ICE detention centers nearing capacity and the administration pushing for increased congressional funding, the focus on accurate reporting is likely to remain a contentious issue in the months ahead. For now, the Trump administration appears poised to leverage these discrepancies as evidence of its predecessor's shortcomings, while immigrant advocates brace for the broader implications of an escalating enforcement crackdown. 17GEN4.com
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