Fewer than 5% of immigrants jailed through Blakeman-ICE partnership had violent records, data analysis shows

Fewer than 5% of the thousands of immigrants held in Nassau jail through County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were convicted of violent crimes, a Newsday analysis found.

The findings — using ICE data obtained through a lawsuit by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by Newsday — contradict President Donald Trump's marquee goal of rooting out the "worst of the worst." The share of local ICE detainees with violent convictions has not been reported until now.

“That is just, wow. I’m shocked,” said George Terezakis, an immigration and criminal defense attorney in Mineola. “It’s just confirmation that they’re not really going after the worst of the worst. They’re just going after anybody.”

ICE detained about 3,200 people at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow from February 2025 to March 10. Newsday found 147 people had convictions for violent crimes, mostly for misdemeanor and felony assault, robbery and sex offenses. There were seven cases of homicide. 

The majority of detainees — nearly 60% — had no criminal convictions or charges. Data shows Nassau detains more immigrants with no criminal history than the national average.

In a statement to Newsday, Blakeman said his partnership has helped deport people "with criminal records ranging from attempted murder to rape, robbery and car jacking [sic] without raiding any churches, schools, day-care centers or hospitals."

He did not respond to questions about past claims that the partnership was not designed to target law-abiding immigrants with roots in the community. A spokesperson for ICE did not respond to an inquiry for this story.

“It’s obvious why [the Trump administration] doesn't want this information publicized," said David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank. "If you look at their Twitter account, 95% of the people they're highlighting are people with violent criminal histories. When you look at the actual data, it’s completely the other way."

Since Blakeman's partnership began, ICE deported 2,236 detainees in East Meadow. Another 125 opted to self-deport. About 550 remain in federal custody, and about 250 were released. One man, a 42-year-old father of two, died in custody.

"They could spend all of their time tracking down criminal fugitives and none of their time on people who have minor traffic violations," Bier said.

"They have one mandate — and that is to increase the arrest numbers to the highest amount that they possibly can."

Holding times

Nassau County officials continue to hold immigrants in the East Meadow jail for longer than the 72-hour legal limit.

While detention times are improving, the practice has not completely stopped.

Since Newsday reported in December that the county was violating its agreement, 50 people were held for longer than three days. Nobody was held longer than four days. A spokesman for Blakeman did not respond to questions about the ongoing practice.

ICE designated Nassau's jail as a temporary holding site, detaining immigrants there for no longer than 72 hours. Federal agents are then required to move people to long-term jails, often in upstate New York or as far away as Texas.

The Newsday story in December reported 366 immigrants were held for longer than three days. Many were held for six days, and 16 people were held for one week or longer. Blakeman denied the reporting, claiming through a spokesman that "with very few exceptions" no one was held longer than 72 hours.

$1 million-plus in reimbursements

For each night a detainee spends at the East Meadow jail, Nassau receives $195, according to Blakeman. 

Nassau has been reimbursed at least $1.28 million and up to $1.8 million from the federal government to use the East Meadow jail, Newsday calculated.

The county also gets a separate reimbursement for guards and transportation at an hourly rate of $37, Newsday previously reported. Nassau received $50,000 on Feb. 5, 2025, to start the ICE partnership.

Blakeman's agreement makes Nassau a convenient hub for federal agents, as cooperation with ICE is largely restricted in neighboring Suffolk County and New York City.

In fact, roughly half of detainees were arrested somewhere outside of Long Island before being brought to East Meadow.

In January, Long Island ICE arrests hit a historic high with more than 300 people detained.

David Sarni, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired NYPD detective, said ICE agents are required to enforce federal immigration law, arresting a "broader net" of people without legal status.

"Just because 5% of the group committed [local] crimes doesn’t mean they didn't all violate federal law," he said.

Blakeman designated 10 Nassau police detectives to be sworn in as immigration agents. Those agents have not been deployed to make immigration arrests on the street, but serve as a legal tool to transfer people from local police custody to ICE.

Terezakis, the immigration and criminal defense attorney, said taxpayers should be asking the government to "prioritize our resources."

“Who really is a threat to our society?" he said.