The statement is not 100% exact but close enough for a reasonable person (e.g., claimed 70% vs. actual 65%). Learn more in Methodology.
Official ICE or DHS arrest statistics and datasets show that 70% of ICE arrests are of noncitizens charged or convicted of a crime in the United States.
DHS/ICE have repeatedly characterized roughly 70% of ICE arrests as people with U.S. criminal convictions or pending charges. Independent analyses of ICE internal FOIA data (Deportation Data Project/UCLA/UC Berkeley and New York Times/Cato Institute) show that across the period Jan. 20–Oct. 15, 2025 about 64–66% of people arrested by ICE had either a U.S. criminal conviction or pending U.S. criminal charges; point-in-time detention snapshots show a lower share (~47–52% had convictions or pending charges) and the share with no U.S. criminal record rose over time. Because the 70% claim approximates the cumulative arrest share over an extended period but overstates most point-in-time measures and depends on framing (counting pending charges as “criminal”), the statement is close but not precisely accurate.