In three of every four cases the marijuana offense was committed at least five year ago.
Christie Thompson & Anna Flagg
Manuel Torres has contributed to this article.
Hector Madrid Reyes, a contractor from Puerto Rico was traveling to Home Depot when he got rear-ended in March. A Georgia State Patrol agent pulled up as he and his passenger exchanged details. He then asked them for their driver’s licenses. Madrid was waiting for a hearing in court to hear his asylum case. He didn’t even have a license.
Jacqueline Maravilla said that there is no public transport where they are, and no Uber or Lyft. Everything is 45 minutes away. We have to accept a calculated chance to provide for our family.
The risk for immigrant families has increased under Trump’s administration as officials increase efforts to deport those with no or little criminal record. The monthly number of people deported whose most serious conviction was a traffic violation—such as driving without a license—has more than tripled in the last six months, hitting almost 600 in May, according to new estimates by The Marshall Project. More than 1,800 people have had traffic offenses this year.
Two-thirds (or more) of those deported from the United States between January and may had no criminal record at all. A further 8 percent had no criminal convictions. Officials’ claims to focus immigration enforcement on “the worst of the worse” criminal offenders are contradicted by these numbers.
These numbers were estimated from an analysis by the Marshall Project of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data that was provided to Deportation Data Project as a response to a FOIA Request. The group stated that the data set could be incomplete, and therefore undercount deportations.
ICE did not reply to a question for a statement.
The crimes in their criminal records can be many years old.
More than 600 people were deported so far this year for marijuana related offenses. Three out of four convictions occurred more than five years prior.
Tim Warden Hertz, an attorney at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Washington, said, “It is no longer about convictions.” There is no discretion. “It’s all about trying to grab as many people, however they can.”
Data from the Deportation Data Project show that, although previous administrations have also sent people to prison for minor infractions or without convictions, Trump’s numbers are higher. Over half of those deported between President Biden’s inauguration and the fiscal year end 2023 (the last date with data available) had never been convicted of a crime. Over 80 people were deported each month for traffic offences during that time period. This compares to over 350 people per month under Trump’s 2nd term.
Several of Trump’s advisers said that the goal for his administration is to make 3,000 ICE arrested each day. Immigration officials denied quotas in court documents filed recently.
A number of attorneys are worried that the pressure on deporting more people leads to racial discrimination and an increased amount of minor traffic offenses to determine a driver’s legal status. Recent laws in 20 states increase the involvement of local police with immigration enforcement. A growing number of departments have signed agreements with Homeland Security in order to enforce immigration laws when they encounter routine traffic stop situations.
Paul R. Chavez is the director of litigation for Americans for Immigrant Justice in Miami. “We often hear about people being pulled over for small reasons like having a broken turn signal, not crossing the yellow lines, or that the window tinting was too dark,” he said. People are taken to jail for these minor offenses, then fingerprinted and handed to ICE.
Chavez said that a lot of people were being accused solely of driving without a permit, which is a crime the police usually discover after they make a traffic check. He said that if you are pulled over for a traffic stop and this is the sole charge, it’s pretty obvious that police have been racial-profiled.
The number of people deported with only nonviolent offenses—like trespassing, failure to appear in court, marijuana offenses, shoplifting and traffic violations—has almost doubled since January.
Madrid says that he has passed the breathalyzer tests after the accident. He admitted that he smoked marijuana the previous night, about 18 hours before. A Georgia State Patrol agent arrested him for driving under the influences and without a valid license.
Madrid was only convicted of driving without a licence in 2019. Maravilla recalled that “he was arrested and I bail him out. He had a court appearance, so he paid the penalty.” And that was it.
The situation was different this time. After Maravilla’s payment of Madrid’s bond, ICE picked Madrid up, and eventually took him to Stewart Detention Center south from Columbus, Georgia. The judge refused to release him from custody, citing a DUI charge of marijuana consumption the night prior to the accident. The hearing for his criminal case would not take place until the summer following. Madrid had to decide between spending at least a year stuck inside a remote, overcrowded detention center—or leaving his wife and family behind.
Madrid chose to deport himself to Honduras in early July. Maravilla, an American citizen, who is yet to fly and has no passport, works hard to get enough money in order to go visit Madrid to bring some of her belongings. Three weeks ago, the couple were married.
Madrid said in Spanish, “It is a great pain.” “I cannot be with my wife and hug my mother, nor can I help my family with the money that I make from my job. It was not something that I would wish on anyone to hear my wife crying over the phone.
The Marshall Project published this article, which is a nonprofit news agency covering U.S. criminal law. Join their mailing list and keep up with them on Instagram and TikTok..
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