Democrat lawmakers and the mainstream media often claim that less than half of the illegal immigrants currently in detention have criminal records, with some reports stating that 74% have no prior convictions. However, a criminal conviction is not required for deportation, as 100% of these individuals have already broken the law by entering or remaining in the country illegally.
Moreover, focusing solely on convictions ignores those with pending criminal charges, known affiliations with gangs or cartels, or those who were trafficked into the country. When these groups are included, the percentage of illegal immigrants with ties to criminal activity rises to nearly 80%.
Even if Democrats insist on using criminal record as the standard for deportation, a recent ICE operation, Operation Patriot, revealed that approximately 54% of the 1,461 individuals arrested had either criminal convictions or pending charges. This rate far exceeds that of the general U.S. adult population, where roughly one-third, about 70 to 100 million people, have some form of criminal record, including arrests without convictions.
Many illegal immigrants without pending charges are still arrested by ICE because the agency specifically targets individuals with known or suspected criminal backgrounds. For example, during the first 50 days of President Trump’s administration, 75% of ICE arrests involved individuals with either criminal convictions or pending charges. In lawful, warrant-based raids on homes and workplaces, everyone present is required to show identification and proof of citizenship.
It is during these checks that many are found to be in the country illegally and often identified as having gang affiliations. According to ICE data, well over half of all illegal immigrants have some form of connection to gangs, cartels, or human traffickers.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 97% of those who entered the U.S. illegally did so via the U.S.-Mexico border, almost entirely through smuggling networks. U.S. Border Patrol officials have stated that “nobody crosses without paying the cartels,” confirming that illegal immigration is now fully monopolized by criminal organizations.
These smuggling operations are run by “coyotes” who operate directly under cartel control. As a result, nearly all illegal immigrants entering through the southern border have some level of connection to a drug cartel.
Migrants pay steep fees to cross the border, averaging $6,937 for Mexican nationals and between $7,000 and $10,000 for Central Americans. Using a conservative estimate of $6,500 per person, cartels likely earned over $13 billion from human smuggling in FY2023 alone, based on the 2.8 million illegal crossings reported that year. But smuggling is only the beginning of the exploitation many migrants face.
Research from San Diego State University found that 6% of undocumented Mexican immigrants were trafficked by smugglers during entry, while 28% were trafficked by employers after arrival, meaning more than one-third experienced trafficking either en route or once in the U.S.
Hellbound and Down 