According to data provided by ICE to Congress, more than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide are living freely in the U.S. on the agency’s “non-detained” docket. These individuals have pending immigration cases but are not currently in detention. Many of them crossed into the country under previous administrations, including former President Donald Trump’s. Trump used this data to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris for current immigration policies during a campaign stop in Michigan. The White House has not yet commented on the data, which came as a surprise to officials.
Some of these immigrants may have never had contact with ICE, as information on their criminal history may not have been available when they crossed the border. In many cases, migrants convicted of crimes are released by state and local officials without ICE being notified, particularly in sanctuary cities. ICE faces limitations in locating and arresting these individuals due to limited resources, with over 7.5 million immigrants on the “non-detained” docket.
ICE agents are working to arrest convicted criminals, such as a man convicted of murder in Colombia and another convicted of attempted murder in El Salvador, but emphasized the challenges in locating and apprehending these individuals living freely in the U.S. Lechleiter noted that more local jurisdictions are beginning to cooperate and rethink sanctuary policies in response to the increased focus on migrant crime.
Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com
