"This ACLU document also makes the same statement you do that most proceedings are civil ( and no attorneys for folks ) but as of the report's date criminal proceedings were rising."
I'm trying to avoid disclosure of any personal info but I will say I've never had a client who has filed for asylum, visa extension, DACA, etc. or dealt with a violation in criminal court except for non-immigration related violations of a criminal statute, for example identity theft from a stolen Social Security card.  Without further information I cannot say if the ACLU is "taking license" with conflating immigration cases and criminal cases but I also cannot, without divulging more info than may be wise, state to the otherwise except by vague anecdote.  That leaves me to point out from your own citation the categorical distinction I've previously stated:
"Despite the anti-immigrant rhetoric, “criminal alien” is not a legal term and undocumented immigrants are not “criminal aliens” under federal law."