The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday released updated data about the number of undocumented immigrants participating in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals who have arrest records.

From its beginning in 2012 until October 2019, there were more than 888,000 people who requested to participate in DACA, the Obama Administration’s initiative to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation who were brought to the United States as children. A little over 765,000 were granted DACA status, including 79,398 individuals who had been arrested.

Nearly 78,000 DACA applicants were denied participation or had their participation terminated, 39% of whom had arrest records.

USCIS points out that an arrest is not the same as a criminal conviction. The numbers do not calculate dropped charges, acquittals or lessening of charges.

To participate in DACA, a person had to come to the U.S. before their 16th birthday, continuously reside in the country from June 15, 2007, onward, and have no convictions “of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety,” according to USCIS.

The agency’s report updates a previous tabulation from June 2018. A USCIS spokesperson said that the agency receives requests about DACA recipients’ arrest records from “members of Congress and the public” and this type of release happens “routinely.”

“This release of data provides updated information to help the public and policymakers better understand the DACA requestor population,” the spokesperson said. “Government agencies routinely release information regarding their activities as a normal course of business.”  

The most frequent reason cited for arrest was “driving-related,” which includes speeding and driving without a license, but excludes driving under the influence. There were 25,000 such arrests, and more than 10,100 people have been denied or terminated from DACA because of a “driving-related” arrest.

The second largest category of arrest was for “immigration-related” civil and criminal and infractions, including visa overstays. Nearly 13,000 DACA recipients – or, as the agency pejoratively called them in a press release, “illegal aliens” – had such an arrest on their record, 78% of whom received denials or terminations.

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition blasted the report in a statement, calling it a “propaganda-like effort.”

“DACA recipients in addition to being the amazing mothers, fathers, students, educators, and healthcare workers and invaluable parts of Colorado’s economy and culture that we are, we are also human beings who make mistakes,” said CIRC. “As a Coalition, we believe in redemption and second chances for all people, including DACA recipients who may have made a mistake in their life.”

The organization – whose members include college-, community-, school- and faith-based groups – added that it sees “right through the timing of the release as the Supreme Court reviews whether the Trump administration broke the law in how it attempted to end the DACA program.”

On Nov. 12, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that challenges whether the Trump Administration can end DACA by claiming that the program is illegal and unconstitutional.

The report listed Colorado as having between 2,501 and 10,000 people who requested DACA and who have been arrested. As of March 2017, a little over 17,000 individuals were approved for DACA in the state.