Rate of Latinos detained with no criminal record increased six times more under Trump, study says

The number of Latinos with no criminal record detained increased sixfold in the first eight months of the Trump administration, according to a new report from UCLA.

Compared to the Biden administration in 2024 for the same period, an average of about 900 detainees entered detention each month, compared to about 6,000 detainees monthly under Trump. The increase was particularly pronounced between June and September 2025, peaking at nearly 10,500 new noncriminal Latino detainees in September. 

Drawing on data provided by the UC Berkeley School of Law’s Deportation Data Project covering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions from February 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, the analysis shows that in the first eight months of the administration, ICE sharply increased the detention, transfer and deportation of Latinos targeted despite having no criminal convictions — contradicting claims that enforcement focuses on the “worst of the worst.”

This extraordinary growth rate outpaces the increases for individuals with criminal convictions or facing pending charges. The noncriminal share of all monthly detentions also increased, from less than one-eighth in 2024 to over one-third between June and September 2025. The surge in noncriminal detainees coincided with the dramatic increase in at-large arrests (i.e., outside of the criminal and penal system), which racially targeted people at places of employment and public spaces.

The new report released this month by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs' Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and Unseen finds that the Trump administration has dramatically reshaped immigration enforcement by rapidly expanding the detention of Latino immigrants with no criminal history.

“The data shows a clear transformation of our immigration system into one of mass confinement,” said Paul Ong, director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and lead author of the report. “Immigrants with no criminal history who pose no threat to public safety are now a central target of enforcement, facing longer detention, more transfers and a far higher likelihood of deportation than in the recent past.”

The report’s key findings include:

• Detention became significantly longer and more disruptive. Nearly seven in ten Latino detainees without criminal histories were held for 15 days or longer, compared with four in ten during the prior administration. Median detention length increased from one to three days under the Biden administration to more than 25 days under Trump. Detainees also experienced more frequent transfers between facilities, compounding isolation and disrupting access to legal counsel and family support.

• Deportation overwhelmingly replaced release. Under the Trump administration, only 9% of Latino detainees without a criminal conviction were released back into their communities, versus 42% under the Biden administration. Further, 88% were deported under Trump. This deportation rate constitutes a nearly eightfold increase between the two administrations, signaling a sharp shift away from discretionary release and individualized custody determinations.

“This report documents a sharp escalation of immigration detention in both frequency and duration as a tool to punish Latinos,” said Sonja Diaz, founder of Unseen. “Latinos with no criminal records are being detained at extraordinary rates, held longer, moved farther from their families, and deported with little opportunity for release under the Trump administration. These practices stand in stark contrast not only to the detention practices of the previous administration, but to the Trump administration’s own narrative that they are targeting 'the worst of the worst' to keep America safe.”

The report concludes that these trends are likely to intensify as federal investments in detention capacity expand, with serious consequences for families, local economies, and civil liberties nationwide.

Read the full report: Latino ICE detentions dramatically reshaped under Trump.