The recent arrest data from Ice does not say where the arrests took place, or how many people the federal agents arrested had prior convictions, data points necessary to understand whether the administration is actually arresting the so-called worst first.
But scrolling through Ice’s social media shows the agency is hyping up the number of people with criminal convictions without any data backing up the administration’s promises to deport people with convictions as the top priority.
The agency has been releasing the daily figures across its different social media profiles, mixed in with photos of Ice agents arresting people and a series of digital fliers with the names and alleged criminal histories of people the agency has detained, some tagged with the motto “The Worst First”.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) arrested more than 8,200 people between 22 January and 31 January, according to data the department is releasing on social media.
The figures are the first public data into the new Trump administration’s promised mass-deportation efforts and are part of a new tactic from the administration to promote its efforts to fulfill Donald Trump’s campaign promise to detain and deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
