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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Short answer: A Sept. 27, 2026 report said ICE officers had been told to focus arrests on people with criminal convictions or pending charges. DHS denied that ICE was standing down on arrests of people without criminal records, saying, “No one is off the table.” The available reporting does not independently confirm that a new written directive changed ICE policy.
What was reported—and what DHS said
Breitbart reported on Sept. 27, 2026, that DHS was responding to a rumor that ICE had stopped arresting people without criminal records. The account also described an earlier report by The Daily Wire, citing agency sources, that officers had been told to arrest only people with criminal convictions or charges. The Daily Wire article could not be directly accessed, so the underlying allegation is best treated as attributed reporting, not established policy.
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Breitbart reproduced DHS’s response as: “No one is off the table. We will continue to arrest any and all illegal aliens that come into our path.” The statement was not attributed to a named official. It is evidence of DHS’s public position, but does not by itself establish what instructions ICE officers received or how arrests were being carried out. Breitbart’s Sept. 27 account was available only through search-result coverage.
Does this establish that ICE changed its arrest strategy?
No. The available account does not include a directly accessible ICE memo, official DHS release, or named agency official confirming the alleged instruction. It also does not establish whether any guidance was written, temporary, limited to particular field offices, or implemented in practice. A reported shift in priorities, a formal directive, and actual arrest patterns are different things; the available evidence does not resolve which, if any, describes the September 2026 allegation.
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The report and DHS’s denial therefore describe competing accounts, not two verified formal policies. DHS’s statement rejects the idea of a categorical stand-down, but it does not specifically confirm or explain whether officers received narrower arrest-priority guidance.
What earlier arrest data can—and cannot—show
Historical figures provide context for the debate, but they do not verify an alleged September 2026 instruction. The Washington Post analyzed ICE records obtained by the Deportation Data Project, with data current through Oct. 15, 2025. It reported that more than 60% of people detained in at-large arrests since June 2025 had no criminal convictions or pending charges. The Post defined these arrests using records labeled “located,” “noncustodial,” and “worksite enforcement,” after filtering duplicate records.
The same analysis counted about 17,500 at-large arrests in September 2025 and 67,800 in communities during the five months after the enforcement approach began taking shape in June 2025. These are 2025 counts, not 2026 totals. The analysis describes recorded arrest patterns in that earlier period; it cannot establish what ICE officers were told nearly a year later.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteFormer ICE Director Sarah Saldaña told the Post that arresting people without authorization was consistent with ICE’s mandate, but called the approach “a waste of resources.” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin disputed the Post’s interpretation, saying the story showed how the media “manipulates data” and that enforcement was targeting people DHS described as the “worst of the worst.” Those are competing assessments of the 2025 data, not evidence about the reported 2026 instruction. The Washington Post’s Dec. 28, 2025 analysis provides the data definitions and additional context.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why a separate ICE memo about vehicle stops does not settle this
In October 2026, the Associated Press reported on separate ICE guidance restricting high-speed chases and setting training requirements for vehicle stops. That memo addressed vehicle-stop safety and procedure, not arrest priorities for people without criminal convictions or pending charges. It cannot corroborate the September allegation. The AP also reported that ICE said vehicle stops and arrests continued. The Associated Press report concerns a different operational policy.
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