The Trump administration is challenging Washington Post and New York Times reporting that ICE is increasingly arresting "noncriminal" illegal immigrants, pointing to a string of detainees wanted abroad for murder, child sex crimes, and gang terrorism.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis provided Fox News Digital with a roster of specific cases that DHS says the "noncriminal" label obscures: an MS-13 member involved in extortion schemes in El Salvador, a Honduran national wanted for homicide, a Mexican national wanted for lewd acts on a child, and two brothers wanted for a machete-and-gun attack at a festival in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. None had serious criminal records inside the United States. Under the framework used by the Post and the Times, every one of them counted as "noncriminal."
The dispute centers on how crimes are counted. DHS told Fox News Digital that nearly 70 percent of illegal immigrants arrested by ICE have been convicted of or charged with a crime in the United States. But the department says that figure does not capture foreign criminal records, INTERPOL notices, gang membership in designated terrorist organizations, or human-rights abuses committed overseas. When those categories are included, DHS contends, the actual share of arrested public-safety threats climbs well above 70 percent.
The New York Times published a story on August 27 under the headline "ICE arrests soar as people with no criminal record are increasingly targeted." One day later, the Washington Post followed with its own piece reporting that ICE had "detained more people without a criminal record this year than in all of 2025." Both outlets framed the trend as a shift toward sweeping up people who pose no public-safety risk.
Bis, a special assistant to the president, did not hold back in her response. She rattled off case after case, each involving an individual who would register as "noncriminal" in U.S. databases but who faced grave accusations in their home countries.
Homeland Security Investigations arrested Josue Saul Garcia-Lopez, a Salvadoran national, in May. Garcia-Lopez had no U.S. criminal record. But an international warrant identified him as an active member of MS-13, a gang the U.S. government has designated a foreign terrorist organization, and tied him to extortion and robbery schemes in El Salvador spanning several years.
Days before that arrest, ICE picked up Fredy Alexander Lopez Lara, a Honduran national wanted on an international warrant for homicide in Honduras.
In April, ICE arrested Danny Granados-Garcia, another Salvadoran national and MS-13 member. He was wanted in El Salvador for murdering a pastor.
Bis framed the pattern bluntly:
"These are just a few examples of murderers, gang members, and pedophiles the media refers to as 'non-criminals' because they only have criminal records in their home country."
One case stood out for a different reason. Salvador Suazo-Garcia, a Mexican national, entered the United States legally in May 2021 under the Biden administration. San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents arrested him in Lemon Grove, California, in March. He was wanted in Mexico for lewd and lascivious acts upon a child. Agents processed him administratively and turned him over to Mexican authorities.
DHS acknowledged that "while technically his only crime in the United States is driving without a license," the foreign warrant told a different story. Under the methodology used by the Post and the Times, Suazo-Garcia would have appeared in the "noncriminal" column, or, at worst, as a minor traffic offender.
Shortly before that arrest, Border Patrol agents also picked up Silvia Del Rosario Torres-Castro, a Mexican national wanted in Mexico for homicide.
Late last year, ICE arrested Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla, a Salvadoran national and member of the 18th Street Gang, another organization designated as a foreign terrorist group. His mugshot showed a face covered in tattoos, including "666" across his forehead. His only U.S. offense was driving without a license.
In El Salvador, the picture was different. Lazo-Quintanilla appeared on the country's most-wanted gang members list. He was wanted for aggravated homicide, extortion, and possession of drugs, among other felonies.
Months before that arrest, ICE agents in Texas detained two brothers, Pedro Luis Ortiz-Mendez and Jose Vicente Ortiz-Mendez, both Mexican nationals wanted for multiple murders tied to an attack on a festival in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. At least one victim was shot. Another was attacked with a machete.
The White House spokeswoman pressed the point directly at the two newspapers:
"Why does the mainstream media continue to peddle false narratives protecting criminal illegal aliens?"
Bis added that "no one would want these heinous criminals to be their neighbors" and characterized the broader enforcement effort in sweeping terms:
"From foreign fugitives, gang members, and terrorists, ICE is getting the worst of the worst off our streets and out of our country."
Fox News Digital reached out to both the Washington Post and the New York Times for comment. No response was noted in the reporting.
Separately, ICE arrested more than 1,300 illegal immigrants in a sweep across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, a figure referenced in Fox News coverage alongside the White House pushback. The details of that operation were not elaborated beyond the arrest total.
The dispute between the administration and the press comes down to a single question: what counts as a criminal? DHS argues that limiting the label to U.S. convictions creates a statistical loophole large enough to drive an alleged murderer through. The Post and the Times have not publicly responded to that critique.
Several open questions remain. DHS has not disclosed the total number of arrests behind its 70-percent figure, making it difficult to assess the denominator. The methodology behind the Post's claim that noncriminal detentions this year already exceed all of 2025 has not been detailed publicly. And it is unclear whether the international warrants cited by DHS have been independently verified by any court or authority outside the department itself.
Still, the gap between the media's framing and the administration's case files is hard to ignore. When a man wanted for killing a pastor in El Salvador or attacking children in Mexico shows up in a spreadsheet as "noncriminal," the label tells you more about the spreadsheet than it does about the man.
