Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
No.
Most inmates in Wisconsin’s federal prison, and in federal prisons nationally, are U.S. citizens.
Following Trump administration arrests of immigrants suspected or convicted of crimes, Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of western Wisconsin claimed Jan. 27 that over 50% of inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wisconsin, are “illegal aliens.”
Oxford is a low-security prison 60 miles north of Madison that houses 1,100 male offenders.
As of Jan. 25, 59% of Oxford inmates, and 85% of federal inmates nationally, were U.S. citizens. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not readily have data on what percentage of inmates are unauthorized immigrants.
Nationally:
U.S. citizens constituted two-thirds of recently federally sentenced individuals.
The most serious offense for 76% of noncitizens sentenced for a federal crime in recent years was immigration-related, such as unlawful U.S. entry or smuggling noncitizens (14% were drug-related).
Donald Trump’s administration has called unauthorized immigrants criminals, but being undocumented is a civil violation.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: News Releases and Statements
- X: Derrick Van Orden post
- Federal Bureau of Prisons: Email, Jan. 29, 2025
- Federal Bureau of Prisons: Inmate citizenship
- U.S. Sentencing Commission: Federally Sentenced Non-U.S. Citizens
- U.S. Government Accountability Office: Noncitizens in the U.S.: Public Information on Federal Incarcerations
- Axios: All undocumented immigrants are "criminals," Trump administration says
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