--- title: Trump 100 Days: Undocumented Arrests Up Under Trump description: Statistics provided by up show that arrests of immigrants are up compared to the same time last year under President Trump canonical: https://time.com/4759713/trump-100-days-arrests-undocumented-immigrants/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-28T17:48:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:21.500Z article:section: Politics og:title: Arrests of Undocumented Immigrants Went Up During Trump First 100 Days og:description: But deportations remain the same so far. og:url: https://time.com/4759713/trump-100-days-arrests-undocumented-immigrants/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc42a579655f5eabd/6988cb338e060140b046a285/100-days-stats-president-trump-had-success-immigration-enforcement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: 100-days-stats-president-trump-had-success-immigration-enforcement og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Arrests of Undocumented Immigrants Went Up During Trump First 100 Days twitter:description: But deportations remain the same so far. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc42a579655f5eabd/6988cb338e060140b046a285/100-days-stats-president-trump-had-success-immigration-enforcement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Arrests of Undocumented Immigrants Went Up During President's Trump First 100 Days > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: In Their Words: the Border Wall [Watch (HLS stream): In Their Words: the Border Wall](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QM85D8KQ.m3u8) (3:35)  _Published 2017-04-27. Here's a look back at President Trump's and the Republicans comments on the border wall since Trump's presidential campaign announcement._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Apr 28, 2017 5:48 PM UTC  Attorney General Jeff Sessions tours the U.S.-Mexico border with border officials in Nogales, Ariz. on April 11, 2017\. A courthouse on the border in Texas is serving as a model for the kind of tough immigration enforcement advocated by President Donald Trump. “This is a new era. This is the Trump era,” Sessions said during a visit to the border in Nogales, Ariz., this month. Attorney General Jeff Sessions tours the U.S.-Mexico border with border officials in Nogales, Ariz. on April 11, 2017\. A courthouse on the border in Texas is serving as a model for the kind of tough immigration enforcement advocated by President Donald Trump. “This is a new era. This is the Trump era,” Sessions said during a visit to the border in Nogales, Ariz., this month. Ross D. Franklin—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Apr 28, 2017 5:48 PM UTC Arrests of undocumented immigrants, both with and without criminal convictions, are up in the [first 100 days](http://time.com/4758355/trump-100-days-republican-congress-relationship/?iid=sr-link1) of the Trump Administration when compared to last year. According to statistics provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a total of 35,147 arrests were made between January and March of 2017, up from 26,471 made in the first three months of 2016\. The agency did not break down the statistics from Jan. 20 on, but the numbers they have provided to TIME show the Trump Administration is following through on its promise to crackdown on illegal immigration. In his “[contract with the American voter](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trump-delivers-groundbreaking-contract-for-the-american-vote1),” President Trump made a number of promises related to curbing illegal immigration, from funding the border wall to removing “the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants” from the United States. The president promised to get started on those measures and dozens more within his first [100 days in office](http://time.com/4758355/trump-100-days-republican-congress-relationship/). The President will reach that milestone on Saturday and many of his immigration promises remain in flux. A leaked DHS report [published in the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/memos-signed-by-dhs-secretary-describe-sweeping-new-guidelines-for-deporting-illegal-immigrants/2017/02/18/7538c072-f62c-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.6c9a5b35967e) showed that the Administration is mulling plans to speed up hiring of immigration and border patrol officers and begin construction on parts of the promised border wall. But a fight over funds for Trump’s “big, beautiful” wall nearly shut down the government. Both of his executive orders banning travel to the U.S. from certain majority-Muslim countries have been stalled by the courts. And a [federal judge recently dealt a blow](http://time.com/4755826/trump-sanctuary-city-words/) to the president’s promise to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities by withholding funding. But the statistics provided by ICE show that the Trump Administration has successfully taken the “shackles off” of enforcement officers who felt their work had been stifled under the previous administration. “For those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be forewarned,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said during a recent stop at the southern border. “This is a new era. This is the Trump era.” While the majority of those arrested had been convicted of crimes, there has been an increase in the number of non-criminals arrested so far this year. According to the numbers provided by ICE, 26,590 of the arrested immigrants had been convicted of crimes, or about 75.6%. Crimes range from sexual assault to DUI, according to ICE. In 2016, 85.9% of those arrested were convicted criminals, a total of 22,753 people. So far this year, ICE has arrested 8,557 non-criminals, which includes individuals who overstayed their visas or had been previously deported, up from 3,718 in 2016. Though arrests are up, deportation statistics are on par with the previous year. ICE Spokesperson Jennifer Elzea says that’s because it takes time for actual removals to occur after an arrest in part due to the clogged immigration court system. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has also touted a [dramatic decrease in migration across the southern border](http://time.com/4696733/there-may-already-be-a-trump-effect-at-the-southern-border/) to the U.S. In March, apprehensions at the border with Mexico were down [64% from the year before](https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/04/18/secretary-kelly-delivers-remarks-threats-homeland-and-dhs-response). The numbers do little to assuage immigration reform advocates fear that the Administration would target immigrants without criminal records, tearing up families and spreading fear in the wake, in order to increase deportations as the president has said he wanted. But the Administration maintains that it is focused on arresting and deporting the “worst of the worst” immigrants, including the gang members and violent offenders Kelly and Sessions have singled out in recent speeches. Under President Trump’s [immigration executive orders](http://time.com/4648516/donald-trump-immigration-executive-orders/), nearly any immigrant found to be in the country illegally could be subject to removal. The president has said young immigrants who were granted special status under the Obama Administration [should “rest easy,”](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/21/trump-says-dreamers-should-rest-easy.html) but there have been reports of arrests and removals of so-called Dreamers who were brought to the country as children. And despite reports of arrests at courthouses, schools, and other locations many believe should be off limits to enforcement activities, Elzea says officers are cognizant of individuals’ needs. “When carrying out the immigration law enforcement mission, ICE remains sensitive to the needs of victims and witnesses of crimes. ICE officers will take into consideration if an individual is the immediate victim or witness to a crime in determining whether to take enforcement action,” she said in a statement to TIME. “Particular attention is paid to victims of domestic violence, human trafficking or other serious crimes.” Advocates say the Administration is going out of its way to demonize immigrants in order to justify the boost in enforcement activity. Reports have shown immigrants are not more prone to criminal activity than American-born citizens, but the Trump Administration is putting particular focus on immigrant violence with the launch of a new office that highlights the stories of victims. “The Trump Administration has launched an unprecedented attack on the American idea that we should welcome immigrants and refugees, and build a stronger country in the process,” Frank Sharry, the executive director of the America’s Voice Education Fund, said recently. “They are using the cover story of ‘bad hombres’ as a smokescreen for a strategy that declares open season on each and every undocumented immigrant in America.” ## Transcript I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall, mark my words. [ APPLAUSE ] And wait a minute, and who's gonna pay for the wall? Mexico. Who's gonna pay for the wall? Mexico. Who's gonna pay for the wall? Mexico And it's gonna be a real wall, it's gonna be a high wall, it's gonna be beautiful, it's gonna be a wall that works. Like the former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, he said today, and I'm quoting him. He said, I'm not going to pay for that, quote, F- ing wall. How are you going to make them pay for the wall? I will and the wall just got 10 feet taller, believe me. We did discuss the wall, we didn't discuss payment of the wall. That'll be for a later date. On day one we will begin working On an impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful southern border wall. Are you really gonna build a wall? Yes. They're talking about a fence In the Republican Congress. Would you accept offense? For certain areas I would, but certain areas the wall is more appropriate. I'm very good at this. It's called construction. I could wait about a year and a half until we finish our negotiation with Mexico which will start immediately after we get to office. But I don't wanna wait. Mexico in some form, and there are many different forms, Will reimburse us, and they will reimburse us for the cost of the wall. Well first off, we're gonna pay for it and front the money up, but I do think that there are various ways as you know and I know what your follow question is, is Mexico going to pay for For the wall. There are a lot of different ways of getting Mexico to contribute to doing this. The point is we are going to finance the Secure Fence Act which is the construction of the physical barrier on the border. I've said many times. That the American people will not pay for the wall and I've made that clear to the government of Mexico. Should Mexico pay? Border. That's not the point. Well it kind of is the point, right? Why should Mexico pay for it? Anna asked me. Do you believe that Mexico will pay for it? No. It's unlikely that we will build a wall Or physical barrier from sea to shining sea. [ CROSSTALK ] the border wall was part of it. Are you okay if the money's not designated specifically for the border wall? In fact, if the money's designated for border security but not for the border wall, you'll sign that bill? I think that as long as the President's priorities are adequately reflected in the CR and there's enough as far as flexibility for the border wall and border cities. Security. I think we'll be okay with that but we're still negotiating. [ MUSIC ] The wall is gonna get built, folks, just in case anybody has any question. The wall is gonna get built and the wall is gonna Stop drugs and it's gonna stop a lot of people from coming in that shouldn't be here, and it's gonna have a huge effect on human trafficking. 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