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A January immigration enforcement surge was purportedly aimed at some of the “worst of the worst criminals. But the vast majority of arrested immigrants identified by the Bangor Daily News have no criminal records.
Through a review of court records, press releases and media reports, the BDN identified 67 people detained by federal agents in what they called “Operation Catch of the Day.” The administration of President Donald Trump said it arrested 206 immigrant “offenders” but has only specifically named 10 people in public statements.
The BDN’s list of 67 people is the most comprehensive one compiled so far. A review of the cases show that the majority of people identified had some prior interaction with the immigration system. The demographic breakdown is also similar to ICE’s prior pattern of arrests here.
Of the 67 people identified by the BDN, 58 of them lacked a criminal record that could be independently verified despite claims that the operation was meant to capture the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
That means in court filings their lawyers said they didn’t have a criminal record, it had previously been reported they didn’t have a record, or convictions didn’t appear via background checks run by the BDN.
Three people identified in media reports and a press release from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are listed pending criminal charges that have not yet been fully adjudicated. In the case of a Guatemalan man who has been in the country for two decades, his lawyer said he was previously convicted of driving under the influence, but that the incident hadn’t harmed anyone or property.
Two-thirds of the people we identified had already been in contact with the federal immigration system. This can mean a number of things.
For example, 20 of them were asylum seekers. The rest of this group had been granted a temporary status, were attending routine check-ins with immigration officials or had work authorization. Some already had future court dates in front of immigration judges.
We found that four people had never had a previous interaction with immigration authorities, even when they entered the country, which likely means they are undocumented.
The largest group of people identified was originally from Angola.
A third of the cases identified by the BDN involved people from Angola. Of those cases, 15 either came to the U.S. legally with a visa, had applied for asylum or already had a date scheduled to appear before an immigration judge. The next largest group of people detained and identified were from Ecuador.
This generally follows the trend of ICE arrests earlier in President Donald Trump’s second term. Many Angolans are asylum seekers who crossed the southern border illegally, while Ecuadorians are often doing roofing work here.
How we did this
The BDN obtained and reviewed more than a thousand pages of federal court documents filed throughout New England. We interviewed lawyers representing the people detained, attended immigration courts, and reviewed articles, press releases, and other media that contained the names of people detained.
To review criminal backgrounds, the BDN reviewed the legal filings and partnered with The Maine Monitor to run background checks using a proprietary software system.
Bangor Daily News investigative reporter Sawyer Loftus may be reached at [email protected].
Callie Ferguson is the deputy investigations editor for Maine Focus, the BDN’s investigations team. She can be reached at [email protected].
