DHS Admits Its Website Featuring ‘Worst of the Worst’ Arrests Is Full of Mistakes

AP Photo/Jack Dura, File

The Department of Homeland Security admitted that the agency’s website dedicated to arrests of “the worst of the worst” was full of incorrect information, changing the site after receiving questions from CNN.

The DHS website, “Arrested: Worst Of the Worst,” features the name, crimes, and location of arrest for thousands of people the agency claims were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But after CNN questioned DHS on the findings of an analysis of the website, the agency conceded that a large swath of the information was incorrect.

CNN’s analysis found that hundreds of the persons listed on the website had been arrested or convicted of very minor crimes, such as a singular traffic offence or marijuana possession. The agency claimed that this was due to a “glitch” that failed to show more serious or more frequent convictions.

“This is a glitch on the WOW website that impacted about 5% of the entries,” a DHS spokesperson told CNN. “Many of these who are listed as traffic offense and illegal reentry, which is a felony, have additional crimes. All of these individuals have been arrested by ICE and all of them committed crimes breaking our nation’s laws, including some who had felonies for illegal re-entry.”

The spokesperson claimed the agency was working “to fix the issue,” claiming on Wednesday that the glitch had been “resolved.” The spokesperson did not answer CNN’s requests to specify the kind of glitch that had occurred.

The CNN report also noted another discrepancy in the website– a large number of immigrants allegedly arrested in small cities. The outlet claimed this could be “a potential indication that those detained were already in federal prison or had been transferred from state custody.”

That possibility echoes a previous instance, where DHS tried to excuse its arrest of a U.S. citizen by claiming they believed him to be a violent sex offender, who turned out to have been in jail for over a year.

“All of these individuals have been arrested by ICE and placed in removal proceedings,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

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