Guacamaya compared analyses from CBS News, The Independent, Stateline, and CNN, all of which show a decrease in the proportion of detainees held for violent crimes compared to the Biden administration. Photograph: Mehaniq/Shutterstock
Guacamaya, August 5, 2025 — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) detained nearly 8,000 Venezuelans during the first five months of the Trump administration. According to a CBS News analysis, this figure places Venezuela fourth among countries of origin with the highest number of arrests, behind Mexico (nearly 40,000 detainees), Guatemala (15,000), and Honduras (12,000).
Based on data from the Deportation Data Project, CBS News reports that ICE carried out over 109,000 arrests across the U.S. between January 20 and June 27, 2025. During the same period the previous year, under the Biden administration, the agency recorded 49,000 arrests—marking a 120% increase.
Southern and border states accounted for the bulk of these arrests, with Texas alone responsible for nearly a quarter (23.2%) of the total. Florida followed with 11%, and California with 7%. Meanwhile, Vermont, Alaska, and Montana reported the fewest arrests, with a combined total of just 100.
Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, noted that ICE tends to make more arrests in states with policies that encourage cooperation with immigration authorities. However, the agency also operates in areas with large immigrant populations, even when local collaboration is limited. “It’s easier for ICE to pick people up from state and local jails where there’s cooperation,” she said.
The data shows that detainees came from nearly 180 countries, though most were citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean. A recent report from the Migration Policy Institute, also cited by CBS News, found that Latin American and Caribbean immigrants made up 84% of all unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2023.
In a separate analysis, Stateline reported that only 40% of those detained had confirmed criminal records. That figure drops to 30% according to The Independent, which cited data up to June 1 from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. CNN, meanwhile, reported in mid-June that just 8% of ICE detainees under the Trump administration were arrested for violent crimes, compared to 10% under Biden.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace stated that over 9,000 Venezuelans have recently been repatriated from the U.S. and Mexico. While this figure includes both voluntary returns and deportations, it does not necessarily overlap with ICE detainees—suggesting that an unspecified number of Venezuelans remain in detention.
