ICE Criminal Prosecutions Continue to Rise Under Obama


Number Latest Month 2,147
Percent Change from previous month 18.9
Percent Change from 1 year ago 29.8
Table 1: ICE Criminal Prosecutions
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during May 2009 the government reported 2,147 new prosecutions that had been referred by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 18.9% over the previous month.

The comparisons of the number of defendants charged are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).

These data suggest that at least through the first five months of the Obama Administration there has been no let up in the increase in criminal prosecutions as a result of ICE's enforcement activities. When monthly 2009 prosecutions in May are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was up 29.8 percent.

ICE is the largest investigative agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Other key units in DHS include the Border Patrol (BP), the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA), Secret Service (SS) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Plot of moveave * FYMONDT
Figure 1: ICE Criminal Prosecutions Over Time

The increase in prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. This moving average also provides the basis for the one-year change identified in Table 1.

The majority of the prosecutions filed during May were for immigration offenses (55%), while one third (33%) were for drug offenses. However, none were recorded as brought against employers under the statute 8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(3)(A), which makes it a criminal offense to knowingly hire illegal aliens.


Top Ranked Judicial Districts

Arizona has jumped to the top as the district with the largest number of prosecutions resulting from ICE enforcement activity during May 2009. In that district 314 prosecutions were filed. It was followed closely by the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) with 303 new prosecutions, the Southern District of California (San Diego) with 293, the Southern District of Texas (Houston) with 237. The District of New Mexico rounded out the top five with 100 new prosecutions during May.

While the heaviest concentration of cases was centered in districts along the southwest border, ICE enforcement actions have become widespread throughout the country. In fact, during the single month of May, fully 80 out of the total of 90 federal districts saw one or more prosecutions that had resulted from ICE enforcement actions. Looking at a three month window — March through May of 2009 — at least one ICE-referred case had been filed in every district.

Table 2 lists prosecutions due to ICE activity for those federal judicial districts that ranked in the top third in May 2009. Also shown are the number of prosecutions for the United States as a whole, as well as the numbers for each district for the first five months of the Obama administration.


Judicial District Rank May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 Feb 2009 Jan 2009
U.S.  - 2,147 1,805 1,792 1,598 1,338
Arizona 1 314 209 175 173 104
Texas, W 2 303 224 259 153 182
Cal, S 3 293 239 251 181 154
Texas, S 4 237 181 142 181 118
N Mexico 5 100 83 57 30 34
Cal, C 6 56 59 68 50 65
Fla, M 7 52 23 29 52 14
N. Y., W 8 41 17 16 18 20
Nevada 9 40 9 21 26 6
Fla, S 10 39 37 48 47 41
N. Y., E 10 39 27 38 18 26
N. Y., S 12 38 34 44 43 38
Oregon 13 32 20 21 10 48
Utah 14 28 24 17 21 15
Cal, N 15 27 53 52 44 36
Cal, E 15 27 28 37 34 27
Virg, E 17 26 32 24 27 51
Mo, W 18 24 12 3 3 3
N. J. 19 20 21 27 18 15
Ark, W 20 17 21 5 10 9
Colorado 21 16 21 13 11 16
Ill, N 21 16 9 21 7 9
Maryland 21 16 11 16 10 22
Idaho 24 15 5 7 12 7
Ala, N 25 13 3 1 3 5
Ga, N 25 13 22 26 23 13
Mich, W 25 13 21 17 14 8
Ark, E 28 12 8 2 7 5
Penn, E 28 12 15 20 9 10
S Car 28 12 18 7 1 4
Table 2: Top Districts for ICE Prosecution Referrals