ICE arrests in Massachusetts skyrocketed over the first 15 months of the Trump administration, representing a nearly fivefold increase compared to a similar period at the end of President Joe Biden’s term.
As of March, 7,028 Massachusetts ICE arrests have taken place under President Trump, according to a WBUR analysis of data compiled by the Deportation Data Project. That’s nearly five times the 1,470 immigrants arrested here in the final 415 days of the Biden administration.
The arrests have ensnared people from 100 countries, with the highest numbers coming from Brazil and Guatemala. They took place at local courthouses, police departments, the federal courthouse in Boston and in the streets of Massachusetts cities and towns.
The data, obtained from ICE through public records requests by the Deportation Data Project, runs through March 10.
Despite claims by Trump administration officials that they’re targeting the “worst of the worst” in their immigrant crackdown, the new data backs up previous reporting that people without criminal records have widely become targets for enforcement.
Under Trump, nearly half the immigrants arrested, or 46%, had no pending criminal charges or convictions; they were marked only for being in the country without legal status. Those with convictions made up 19% of the arrests, and 35% of the people have pending criminal charges.
Under the 415 days of Biden data reviewed, a greater portion had criminal records or pending charges, at 74%. Only a quarter of the total were arrested for civil immigration infractions, such as an expired visa or having entered the country without authorization.
The raw number of those arrested with criminal convictions has more than doubled, from 530 under Biden to 1,303 under Trump. The nature of the convictions is not spelled out in the data. However, some of the cases are detailed by “threat level.” Under Trump, 693 people, or 10% of those listed with a threat level, had the highest category of aggravated felony.
Of the many places where ICE detained people over this period, at least 220 arrests took place at 44 police stations across the Commonwealth. ICE officials routinely complain that they don’t get enough help from local police departments, but the data may reflect cooperation from numerous departments, particularly in Lawrence and Boston.
Courthouses are another ICE hotspot. According to the ICE data, 544 arrests took place at local and federal courthouses. And that’s likely an undercount; the Massachusetts Trial Court, which oversees the state and local courts, reported 726 ICE arrests from January 2025 through February this year.
According to the data, nearly 500 of the total 7,028 arrested were juveniles or were not detained.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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