Houston – For more than a decade, Joyce Basele reported to immigration officials as required.
When the 64-year-old Houston woman arrived at an ICE field office for another routine check-in on June 18, however, she was taken into custody.
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“She’s literally a part of our family,” said Maureen Mendrek-Laske, whose four children Basele helped raise over the past 10 years. “She’s really a maternal figure.”
Basele’s case comes as federal data shows people without criminal convictions or pending criminal charges—often described as non-criminal undocumented immigrants—make up a growing share of ICE arrests in Texas.
How Basele ended up in ICE custody
Basele entered the United States legally from Kenya in September 2005 as the dependent spouse of her then-husband, who was in the country as a religious worker, according to her immigration attorney, Leslie Kirby.
Kirby said Basele lost her dependent visa status following her divorce, something Basele did not realize at the time.
Basele was later placed in removal proceedings and applied for asylum and withholding of removal. Although an immigration judge found her claims credible, Kirby said they did not meet the legal and evidentiary requirements for relief.
Kirby said Basele’s previous attorneys also missed critical deadlines during subsequent appeals. One person who represented Basele was not licensed to practice law in Texas, according to Kirby.
Those unsuccessful appeals left Basele with a final order of removal. ICE later placed her under an order of supervision, allowing her to remain in the country as long as she regularly reported to immigration officials.
For approximately 14 years, Basele attended those check-ins as required.
“She went to check in at the DHS, and they detained her at that moment,” Mendrek-Laske said.
Mendrek-Laske said Basele has no criminal history, pays taxes and maintains her certification as a nursing assistant. Basele has cared for both children and older adults while living in the Houston area.
Basele also has a U.S.-citizen daughter whose petition to sponsor her mother was approved. However, Kirby said Basele cannot adjust her immigration status while the removal order remains in place.
Texas ICE arrest data shows a shift
KPRC 2 analyzed arrest records obtained from ICE through the Deportation Data Project, a collaboration between researchers at UCLA and UC Berkeley that collects federal immigration-enforcement records through public-information requests and litigation.
The analysis excluded records flagged as possible duplicates.
In 2025, ICE recorded 82,620 arrests in Texas:
- 31,997, or 38.7%, involved people with no criminal convictions or pending charges.
- 29,449, or 35.6%, involved convicted criminals.
- 21,174, or 25.6%, involved people facing pending criminal charges.
In the available 2026 data, the share involving non-criminal immigrants increased:
- 8,951, or 48.1%, had no convictions or pending charges.
- 5,610, or 30.1%, were classified as convicted criminals.
- 4,051, or 21.8%, had pending criminal charges.
The 2026 records only extend through March 11 and do not represent a complete year.
The data also does not identify the underlying offenses connected to each conviction or pending charge. Therefore, it cannot determine how many arrests involved violent criminals.
ICE has continued to publicize arrests and removals of people it describes as the “worst of the worst.” Kirby, however, said attorneys are increasingly seeing people without criminal histories detained while complying with required ICE check-ins.
“There does seem to be a strategic effort to extend beyond the ‘worst of the worst,’” said Kirby.
Deportation blocked, but detention continues
Kirby said her legal team secured a stay of deportation for Basele, temporarily preventing ICE from removing her from the United States while a humanitarian petition remains pending.
“We were able to get a stay of her deportation,” Kirby said. “ICE expressly stated to us that they would not be deporting her, but they still have custody. So they are refusing to release her from custody.”
Kirby said Basele may next file a habeas corpus petition asking a federal judge to review whether her continued detention is lawful.
Basele remains detained at a CoreCivic-operated immigration detention facility. She spent her 64th birthday there on July 14.
“Is she really a threat?” Mendrek-Laske asked. “You have someone who has been compliant, taxpaying, working two jobs. What more do you want?”