DHS: 250+ DACA recipients arrested, 80 deported in 2025 - Spectrum News

WASHINGTON — More than 250 immigrants who are a part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program were arrested and more than 80 were removed from the U.S. over 11 months in 2025, including most of President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The figures were revealed in a letter, dated Feb. 11, that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent to the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, after he and Senate Democratic colleagues pressed her in September about whether DACA recipients were being targeted.

Durbin, along with Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla of California and Mark Kelly of Arizona, released the letter Thursday, along with a statement slamming the arrests and deportations as “deeply troubling” and “a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — which is called DACA for short and whose recipients are often referred to as "Dreamers" — is an Obama-era program that temporarily delays deportation for some people without documentation who came into the U.S. as children. Those who meet certain guidelines, such as having entered the U.S. before they were 16, having consistently resided in the country since 2007, having received a high school degree in America, having not been convicted of a felony and more, are eligible to request participation in the program and can seek work authorization. Approval for the program is usually given for a period of two years before recipients have to go through a renewal process.

In the letter sent to Durbin, Noem noted that being a beneficiary of DACA “does not confer lawful status.” She contended that determinations as to who is eligible are made on “a case-by-case basis” and “can be terminated at any time” at the discretion of the federal government.

“DACA, like all forms of deferred action, is a temporary forbearance from removal within the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security,” Noem wrote. “It comes with no right or entitlement to remain in the United States indefinitely.”

The homeland security secretary said that of the 261 DACA recipients arrested over the 11-month period, 241 had criminal histories. In their response, the trio of Senate Democrats slammed Noem for not providing any further details on their criminal histories and questioned the assertion given the renewal process for the program.

“DACA recipients go through strict background checks every time they renew this protection, and the Trump Administration has not hesitated to arrest immigrants with no serious criminal convictions and falsely label them the ‘worst of the worst,’” the Democrats contended. “In the face of this Administration’s actions, it is important for Congress to protect young people who know no other home than the United States and continue the critical work to find a pathway to citizenship for them.”

Durbin, Padilla and Kelly went on to declare that they would not “accept partial information” and requested Noem send more context on the basis for the 261 arrests and 86 deportations.

According to Noem’s letter, the arrests and removals took place between Jan. 1, 2025, and Nov. 19, 2025. Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20, 2025.

Trump has put the issues of border security and immigration front and center since his entrance into the political world now more than 10 years ago. They were a major focus during his first term in office, and he returned to the White House last year after campaigning on a pledge to carry out mass deportations.

He has taken a hard-line approach to the issue since being back in the Oval Office in cities across the country. Despite his vow to first seek out those with criminal records for removal, Democrats and a few Republicans have raised questions about the prospect in light of his administration's immigration enforcement actions at workplaces, such as farms.

Trump has long expressed qualms with the DACA program in particular and sought to roll it back in his first term but was blocked by the Supreme Court.

Efforts in Congress to address a future for those enrolled in the program and create a pathway to obtaining citizenship have not made significant progress, however.