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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Will Craft

Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal

Black-and-white illustration with pink-orange tones, of two officers leading a man with his hands handcuffed behind him.
The analysis exposes a stark gap between the Trump administration’s rhetoric and reality. Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

A Guardian analysis of government records has found that the vast majority – 77% – of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time in 2025 had no criminal conviction, exposing a stark gap between the Trump administration’s rhetoric and reality.

Within days of Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) trotted out a phrase that his surrogates would come to use over and over again: “the worst of the worst.”

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