ICE Tries To Deport 300K Immigrants From NJ. Only 7 Percent Have A Criminal History

While hundreds of thousands of people are facing deportation proceedings in New Jersey, less than eight percent of them have criminal histories, according to figures provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

Data provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a recent court filing indicates that only 7.09 percent of NJ immigrants facing deportation have a criminal history.

The court documents, filed on April 23, say that 351,008 people were facing deportation proceedings at that time. It adds that of those people, 11,568 had criminal records, and 13,325 had pending criminal charges.

That leaves 326,115, or nearly 93 percent, with no mention of criminal records or pending criminal charges. Patch has reached out to ICE for clarification on these figures and has not received a response.

Governor Mikie Sherrill has adamantly opposed the actions of ICE, Border Patrol, and the Trump Administration in general, citing constitutional infringements and green-lighting policies to protect innocent immigrants in the Garden State.

“Every person deserves to be treated with dignity, and to the rights enshrined in our Constitution – the rights I swore to protect when I served in the Navy, the U.S. Attorney’s office, and as an elected official. These include access to due process and a fair hearing under the law, regardless of where you were born,” said Sherrill in a recent statement. “As the Trump Administration makes it more difficult for members of our community to challenge detention and deportation, access to qualified legal representation has never been more important."

More:

• Sherrill Pumps $20M Of Taxpayer Money To Fight Deportation
• Gov. Sherrill Takes Action To Restrict ICE Operations In NJ

A common misconception with regard to criminality and immigration status is that it is a crime to be undocumented. The 2012 Supreme Court case Arizona v. United States determined that it is generally not a crime to be undocumented in this country.

People who have overstayed their visa, or remained in the United States without authorization, have committed a civil offense, not a criminal one. Other examples of civil offenses include breach of contract and property damage.

Conversely, those who have improperly entered the US, re-entered illegally after deportation, or falsified immigration documents could face criminal charges.

There have been several cases in New Jersey in which a person who was not charged or convicted of a crime was detained, including that of Leqaa Kordia, who was jailed by ICE for a year.

Kordia, a Palestinian immigrant living in Paterson on an F-1 student visa, was detained by ICE in March 2025 after a misunderstanding led her to unknowingly forfeit her legal status.

More: Held By ICE, NJ Woman Sleeps On Concrete Floor As Lawmakers Demand Her Release

After ICE refused to release Kordia, despite several judges' orders, she was eventually freed this past March.

“It’s been a long year, and a tough year,” Kordia said following her release. “Today I stand here feeling blessed and grateful… But sad that I left behind many beautiful, courageous, innocent women… All their crime was just ‘being.’ They dreamt of a better future for their families.”

Another incident is the arrest of Juan Daniel Mendoza, an 18-year-old high school student who was nabbed by ICE while doing laundry in Morristown. He was held in Delaney Hall for several days.

More: High School Student Doing Laundry Among Those Detained In Morris Co. ICE Raid

Mendoza, a Honduran national, had entered the country under the Biden Administration as a minor and did not have a criminal record.

His family, attempting to free the teen, met with one lawyer who cited Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, saying “a child’s lack of valid entry documents does not mandate removal and does not bar the child from eventually obtaining lawful status.” Special Immigrant Juvenile Status can be given to immigrants under the age of 21.

After being held by ICE for five days, a District Judge determined his detainment unlawful, and Mendoza was released.

While Kordia and Mendoza were eventually freed, that is not always the ending for innocent people detained by ICE. The DHS estimates that more than 600,000 people have been deported since Trump’s second term began, along with over 2 million self deportations.

“Under DHS leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS and ICE are fulfilling President Trump's promise and carrying out mass deportations - starting with the worst of the worst,” the DHS website reads.

On the website, users can find thousands of mugshots of deported people and their criminal charges; however, the metrics and reasoning for who is posted, and why, are not specified.

National Data

Several nationwide studies have found that a majority of people being deported under the Trump Administration as of late do not have criminal records.

A Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) study out of Syracuse University in April 2026 found that 70.8 percent of people held in ICE detention across the country had no criminal conviction. The study also found that allegations of criminal activity accounted for only two percent of Immigration Court filings in February 2026, indicating most deportation proceedings were not based on criminal conduct.

A study by the CATO institute in November 2025 yielded similar results, saying that five percent of deportees had violent criminal convictions, and 73 percent of deportees had no criminal convictions whatsoever.

Conversely, the Department of Homeland Security, while under former director Kristi Noem, said in January that 70 percent of detainees had committed a violent crime or had charges against them for violent crimes.

A January fact check on this claim from the Poynter Institute revealed that about 26 percent of detainees had criminal convictions at the time, and about 26 percent had pending criminal charges, suggesting that 52 percent of those detained by ICE at that time had faced criminal charges to some degree.

If accurate, the data shows that nearly half of the detainees had no criminal histories whatsoever at the time. Additionally, the degrees of the criminal convictions and pending criminal charges were not specified, meaning charges could have varied from murder to traffic offenses.

On Tuesday, Trump authorized a $70 billion reconciliation bill to fund ICE and the Border Patrol through the end of his term. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the move "unconscionable."

“Over the past several months, we’ve seen these abusive agencies kill our neighbors, harass and racially profile people, and tear thousands of families apart," Kate Voigt, senior policy counsel at the ACLU. "Once again, the House has shown that it is more committed to standing in President Trump’s good graces than fighting for the needs of the constituents they were elected to represent."