Over the last 14 years, Texas has seen more than 451,000 individuals identified as criminal noncitizens arrested and booked into local jails, as detailed in a recent report from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Out of this total, approximately 322,000 individuals are confirmed to be residing in the U.S. illegally, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
This data, covering the period from June 1, 2011, to February 28, 2025, includes information from DPS and local law enforcement agencies participating in DHS’s Secure Communities program. This initiative allows DHS to collaborate with state and local law enforcement to detain illegal foreign nationals deemed a threat to public safety, rather than releasing them back into the community.
It is essential to note that this data is limited to state offenses in Texas, excluding criminal records from other states, federal charges, and individuals legally present in the country who may have committed state crimes.
Among the 322,000 confirmed illegal foreign nationals, law enforcement has charged them with over 564,000 criminal offenses. These offenses range from serious charges, including 1,043 homicides and 73,025 assaults, to drug offenses (65,896), burglaries (10,096), and thefts (28,601), highlighting a concerning pattern of criminal behavior.
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These charges have resulted in approximately 208,000 convictions, encompassing 533 homicide convictions, 26,670 for assault, 5,147 for burglary, and 27,093 for drug-related offenses, among others.
It’s crucial to understand that the data pertains to foreign nationals who are illegally present in the U.S.; not every individual arrested is recorded in the DHS database, which complicates the verification of their citizenship status. Verification occurs by matching fingerprints to the DHS database, and if an individual’s fingerprints are not in the system at the time of their arrest, their legal status remains unverified.
Moreover, individuals who enter the U.S. illegally and evade detection—referred to as “gotaways”—may later be arrested for state offenses without being recorded in the DHS database, thus being excluded from this data set.
Beyond the Secure Communities program, DHS also assesses the immigration status of foreign nationals within the Texas prison system. From 2011 to February 28, 2025, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) reported over 33,000 illegal foreign nationals identified by DHS during incarceration. Notably, 11,001 of these individuals were not identified through the Secure Communities program at the time of their arrest. The current status of these individuals remains unknown, as does the timing of when their noncitizen status was initially determined.
Among these 11,001 individuals, they faced a total of over 11,016 criminal charges, including 151 for homicide, 1,437 for assault, and 1,933 for drug offenses.
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From these charges, over 6,000 convictions were recorded, with specific counts for various offenses, including 117 for homicide and 1,062 for drug-related crimes.
This data reflects a notable increase from the previous count of over 443,000 criminal noncitizens arrested, including 314,000 confirmed illegally present in the U.S. as of September 30, 2024, as reported by The Center Square.
In 2023 alone, local law enforcement reported nearly 50,000 arrests of such individuals, according to The Center Square reported.
It’s important to note that the arrest and charge data do not necessarily correlate with the total population of illegal noncitizens identified while incarcerated. A more accurate picture can be gleaned by examining the entire criminal history of this population rather than simply focusing on offenses committed within this time frame.
The reports were updated with data current as of March 1, 2025.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
