ICE Chief Doubles Down On Arresting Undocumented People With No Criminal History
ICE is doubling down on arresting undocumented immigrants without criminal histories, Todd Lyons, the acting head of the federal body, told CBS's Camilo Montoya-Galvez in an exclusive interview.
'Under this administration, we have opened up the whole aperture of the immigration portfolio,' he said. 'If we encounter someone that isn't here in the country legally, we will take them into custody.'
That approach marks a sharp break from the policies of the Biden administration, which directed agents to apprehend undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds, those who posed a national security threat and those who had entered the U.S more recently, CBS notes. It's also counter to claims that the Trump administration once made about focusing on those with serious criminal records, and prompted sharp blowback as ICE agents have targeted everyone from a high school student driving to sports practice to immigrants attending routine court hearings.
Of the roughly 100,000 deportations ICE has documented between January 1 and June 24, about 70,000 involved a person with a criminal conviction, a CBS review of internal government data found.
And just a small fraction of those who faced criminal convictions did so for violent offenses, Montoya-Galvez noted. (Living in the U.S. without documentation is a civil offense and not a criminal offense, Vanity Fair notes.)
'We can't look at it just based on violence,' Lyons said in the CBS interview.
A July Axios review also determined that noncriminal ICE arrests increased in June, and that 'people without criminal charges or convictions made up an average of 47% of daily ICE arrests' in the early portion of that month.
Lyons claimed in the interview that deporting immigrants who are 'the worst of the worst' was still a chief priority for the administration, and DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lyons also outlined other ways that ICE will ramp up enforcement as it receives a staggering funding infusion from Republicans' recent tax bill, which will make it the highest funded federal law enforcement agency in the U.S.
The agency will continue workplace raids, despite the concerns that have been raised about racial profiling and the trauma they've caused for immigrant communities. It will also penalize companies that hire undocumented immigrants, he said.
'We're focusing on these American companies that are actually exploiting these laborers,' Lyons said.
Lyons noted, too, that agents will continue to wear masks during enforcement actions, due to concerns for their privacy and personal safety, a move that has garnered criticism for shielding officers from accountability and inspiring fear in immigrants who are approached by them.
'I'm not a proponent of the masks; however, if that's a tool that the men and women of ICE use to keep themselves and their families safe, then I'll allow it,' he said.
Such moves come as the president has reportedly set a goal of a million deportations by the end of this year, one which Lyons said was 'possible' to achieve as ICE's sweeping and controversial tactics continue unabated.
'We hear a lot about the administration deporting the worst of the worst. And as far as we can tell from all available data up to this point, the data has not really supported that,' Austin Kocher, a professor at Syracuse University, told ABC News in July.
Related...
Volunteers Flock To Support Migrants Targeted By ICE At Immigration Courts
Army Veteran And U.S. Citizen Arrested In California Immigration Raid
Old Clip Of Stephen Miller Praising Torture Resurface Amid Aggressive Immigration Enforcement
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Reporter Halts Live Broadcast to Help Cyclist Who Flipped Over Handlebars in 'Big Wipeout'
A TV reporter in Chicago left his coworkers puzzled when he abruptly halted his segment and ducked out of the frame. Thankfully, Christian Piekos and his crew from ABC affiliate WLS were okay — the journalist was reporting on extreme heat when he jumped to help a cyclist who had collided with a runner on the trail by DuSable Harbor, he explained. The moment took place in the early morning on Wednesday, July 23, when Piekos was in the middle of his segment. "All eyes right now are on that extreme heat watch for much—" Piekos began to say, before exclaiming, "Oh, shoot." He then appeared to drop his microphone and ran out of the frame, which lingered on a shot of the trail for a moment before the report cut back to the studio, where one of the surprised anchors said, "Christian Piekos, out there live this morning. We'll check back soon." When the studio cut back to Piekos just moments later, he explained, "We're just fine." "Literally, as we were talking with you guys a few minutes ago, a runner and a cyclist collided on the trail," he said. "Big wipeout for the cyclist. He went over his handlebars, his helmet actually broke, so we ran right over to make sure that he was doing okay." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Piekos said the biker was "up and moving around" after the incident, which left him with some scrapes and a "badly damaged" bike. While he brought over a med kit, the biker declined assistance. Piekos described the ordeal as "a scary situation," cautioning viewers, "You've got to be careful out here on the trail with so many people running and cycling at the same time." He added, "Long story short, that's why we ran over. We're all good. The crew and I are doing just fine, but obviously thinking about our buddy over here who had a pretty bad wipeout." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Alberta UCP candidate found in contempt over election financing investigation
EDMONTON — An Alberta judge has found a former United Conservative candidate and five party donors to be in contempt for not attending interviews as part of an investigation into alleged irregular political donations made in 2023. A decision issued this week by Justice Peter Michalyshyn says for the past year the provincial elections commissioner has been investigating donations made to the party by people allegedly using money that wasn't their own leading up to the 2023 provincial election. The decision says the commissioner's investigation began in the spring of last year but it's not clear if the candidate, Ali Haymour, and the five party donors are the targets of the investigation. It says the commissioner sought to interview Haymour and the other donors as it was believed they hold relevant information and evidence. According to the decision Haymour and the other donors argued they didn't need to participate in the commissioner's investigation due to recent changes to provincial election financing rules the Alberta government made this past spring. Michalyshyn's decision says the changes might affect potential outcomes of the investigation, but it doesn't reduce the commissioner's power to compel people for interviews and the candidate and donors had no legal reason not to participate. Among other things, the legislated changes prevent the elections commissioner from imposing penalties and sanctions on those who break election financing rules if one year has passed since the commissioner received the complaint. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025. Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Her Husband Believes The Government Isn't Real And That They Don't Have To Pay Back Anything. So They Didn't And Now Owe $900K In Total
A woman named Mary from Charlotte, North Carolina, called into a recent episode of 'The Ramsey Show,' hosted by George Kamel and Ken Coleman, to explain how her husband's fringe beliefs nearly destroyed their finances, and may still ruin their future. He Said They Didn't Owe Anything. Then the IRS Came Calling 'He got into the sovereign citizen thing about seven years ago,' Mary said. According to her, the movement claims the U.S. government is illegitimate and that Americans don't actually owe taxes, mortgages or loans. Some believers even think their Social Security numbers are tied to secret government accounts worth billions. Don't Miss: 7,000+ investors have joined Timeplast's mission to eliminate microplastics—now it's your turn to $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. Mary said her husband fully bought in. 'He stopped paying our taxes, he stopped paying our mortgage and our car loans,' she told the hosts. She didn't find out until the sheriff showed up with foreclosure papers. By the time she took over the finances, Mary discovered they owed more than $500,000 to the IRS—and that's not including $170,000 left on their mortgage, $50,000 in car loans, $20,000 on a home loan, $65,000 in student loans, $30,000 in unpaid contract labor, and $60,000 to $70,000 in medical debt. 'They repossessed my car,' she recalled. Then, after getting the car back and not paying the loan back for another seven months, they came out with foreclosure papers again. Trending: This AI-Powered Trading Platform Has 5,000+ Users, 27 Pending Patents, and a $43.97M Valuation — Despite earning around $300,000 a year through his commercial contracting business, her husband refused to use his income responsibly. 'He says he doesn't care about money,' Mary said, but admitted he still spends freely. 'We have no savings.' Kamel was direct: 'This guy doesn't seem like he cares about providing for you. Seems like he's more into his little conspiracy group.' 'I don't see a guy who loves you,' added Coleman. Mary said she now controls the household finances, and her husband has agreed not to make purchases without her permission. But she's overwhelmed. 'I was a stay-at-home mom for 25 years,' she said. She also recently lost her job as a worship leader due to what her church called 'safety concerns' related to her husband's legal trouble. 'Even they see the writing on the wall,' said hosts laid out a plan: prioritize paying off the IRS, consider selling the house to access equity, and completely separate finances from her husband. They also recommended freezing his credit to prevent future damage and consulting a lawyer. 'This is beyond bananas. You are very unsafe,' Coleman told her. 'He can say he loves you, but this is not the act of love.' They closed the segment by offering her a free financial coaching session. 'You're the best woman in the world. I think most women would have long since left this clown. You've got to fight for you right now with everything you've got,' Coleman said. Read Next: How do billionaires pay less in income tax than you?.UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Her Husband Believes The Government Isn't Real And That They Don't Have To Pay Back Anything. So They Didn't And Now Owe $900K In Total originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data