Data: ICE agents arrest nearly 1,000 at Marion County jail in 2 years

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The ACLU of Indiana on Monday said the fact that not every ICE arrest in Indiana involves a convicted criminal is a troubling sign.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest data obtained by the Deportation Data Project and reviewed by News 8 showed ICE agents carried out at least 3,653 arrests in Indiana between Sept. 1, 2023, and June 26, 2025. Of those, 1,549 involved people who had already had a criminal conviction, or 42% of arrests. The data did not specify what type of crime detainees had been convicted of. Another 1,497 people were listed as having criminal charges pending, again without specifying what kind. Finally, 604 were listed as “other immigration violator.” According to ICE, that category includes people with no convictions or pending charges but who have broken U.S. immigration laws, such as by overstaying their visa or by reentering after deportation. The category also includes people who are wanted for crimes in other countries.

A significant number of those arrests came at the Marion County jail. ICE data showed 960 arrests at the facility during the period, slightly more than 1 out of every 4 in the state. They included 299 during the first six months of 2025, compared to 250 during the same period last year.

Chris Daley, executive director of ACLU of Indiana, said, despite the increase, he doesn’t necessarily think the Marion County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating any more closely with ICE than it used to. The sheriff’s office is not participating in the 287(g) immigration enforcement program, for example.

Daley said he’s more concerned by the number of people who are not marked as explicitly facing pending charges or convictions, or even the number who have been charged but not convicted. Twenty-seven of those 960 arrests involved people in the “other immigration violator” category and 560 involved people with pending criminal charges but not convictions.

“I don’t think there has ever been doubt that there are some folks in our country who have committed violent crimes and been convicted of violent crimes,” he said, “but we should not conflate people who have been convicted of crimes with people that have been charged with crimes.”

Daley said people have a right to a fair trial regardless of their immigration status and deporting people while they are still going through the criminal justice system violates the principle of innocent until proven guilty. He said immigration advocates have long argued the Trump administration would not be able to meet its ambitious deportation goals simply by concentrating on people convicted of violent crimes.

Gov. Mike Braun told reporters last week he had some reservations about arrests of people without prior convictions, though he overall supports tougher enforcement.

“If that data is correct, I’d say that should raise eyebrows because I’ve been clearly on record, the worst first, and there are many of them out there,” the Republican governor said. “And if you’re involving others, you’re not probably doing a good enough job in terms of finding out who you’re talking to.”

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office turned down a request for an interview and referred all questions concerning arrests and categorizations thereof to ICE, which said it could not comment on the Deportation Data Project’s data because it did not come directly from them.

• More coverage of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on WISHTV.com

About The Author

See author's posts