The White House is disputing reports from the Washington Post and New York Times claiming that ICE arrests of illegal immigrants without U.S. criminal records are “soaring” this year, saying the term “noncriminal” masks violent criminal histories abroad.
The Washington Post reported last week that ICE had “detained more people without a criminal record this year than in all of 2025.” The New York Times ran a similar story stating that “ICE arrests soar as people with no criminal record are increasingly targeted.”
Lauren Bis, a special assistant to the president and White House spokeswoman, told Fox News Digital that “nearly 70% of illegal aliens arrested by ICE have been convicted or charged with a crime in the United States,” and that the real number of arrested public safety threats is higher because many people without U.S. records have criminal histories in their home countries — including murder, child sex abuse and gang activity.
“These are just a few of the media’s ‘non-criminals,'” Bis said. “Why does the mainstream media continue to peddle false narratives protecting criminal illegal aliens?”
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the roughly 70% figure for U.S. convictions or pending charges, but said that number “doesn’t account for those wanted for violent crimes in their home country or another country, INTERPOL notices, human rights abusers, gang members, terrorists” and other foreign offenses.
Cases DHS Points To
DHS has previously detailed several arrests it says illustrate the gap between the media’s “noncriminal” label and the actual backgrounds of those detained:
- Josue Saul Garcia-Lopez, a Salvadoran national arrested in May by Homeland Security Investigations, had no U.S. criminal record but carried an international warrant identifying him as an active MS-13 member involved in extortion and robbery in El Salvador.
- Fredy Alexander Lopez Lara, a Honduran national arrested days before Garcia-Lopez, had an international warrant for homicide in his home country.
- Danny Granados-Garcia, another MS-13 member, was arrested by ICE in April. He was wanted in El Salvador for murdering a pastor.
- Salvador Suazo-Garcia, a Mexican national who entered the U.S. legally in May 2021 under the Biden administration, was arrested by San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents in Lemon Grove, California, in March, processed administratively, and handed over to Mexican authorities. He was wanted in Mexico for lewd and lascivious acts upon a child.
- Silvia Del Rosario Torres-Castro, a Mexican national arrested by Border Patrol shortly before Suazo-Garcia, was wanted in her home country for homicide.
- Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla, a Salvadoran national and member of the 18th Street Gang, was arrested late last year. DHS said his only U.S. offense was driving without a license, but he was on El Salvador’s most-wanted list for aggravated homicide, extortion and drug possession. His mugshot showed “666” tattooed across his forehead.
- Brothers Pedro Luis Ortiz-Mendez and Jose Vicente Ortiz-Mendez, Mexican nationals arrested by ICE in Texas, are wanted for multiple murders tied to a festival attack in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in which one victim was shot and another was attacked with a machete.
Bis said these cases are only “a few examples of murderers, gang members, and pedophiles the media refers to as ‘non-criminals’ because they only have criminal records in their home country.”
“No one would want these heinous criminals to be their neighbors,” Bis said. “From foreign fugitives, gang members, and terrorists, ICE is getting the worst of the worst off our streets and out of our country.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Washington Post and New York Times for comment on the White House’s response.
