ICE provided data to Congress indicating that more than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide, either in the United States or abroad, are currently living freely in the U.S. outside of detention. These individuals are part of ICE’s “non-detained” docket, meaning they have pending immigration cases but are not currently in detention due to various reasons. The data was provided in response to a request from Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas, and it is not clear when these migrants entered the U.S. Law enforcement officials noted that many of these individuals may have crossed into the U.S. under previous administrations, including former President Donald Trump’s.
Trump utilized the data to critique Vice President Kamala Harris and the current immigration policies during a campaign stop in Michigan, referring to the individuals as “hard, tough, vicious criminals.” However, the White House has not yet commented on the data, with officials suggesting that the release came as a surprise. It was noted that many of the 13,099 immigrants convicted of homicide living in the U.S. may have never had contact with ICE, and there are various reasons why individuals with criminal histories may be released into the country without ICE being notified. This includes cases where individuals are released by state and local officials after serving their time without alerting ICE.
Despite ICE prioritizing migrants convicted of serious crimes like homicide for arrest, limited resources make it challenging to locate and apprehend all individuals. With more than 7.5 million immigrants on ICE’s “non-detained” docket, efforts to locate convicted criminals living at large require significant manpower. However, there has been an increase in cooperation from local jurisdictions, leading to a reconsideration of sanctuary policies in light of the attention on migrant crime. In some cases, ICE agents have been able to locate and arrest individuals convicted of murder and attempted murder in other countries.
The situation highlights the challenges faced by ICE in tracking and apprehending individuals with criminal convictions who are living freely in the U.S. despite having pending immigration cases. The data provided to Congress underscores the complexities of immigration enforcement, especially when it comes to individuals convicted of serious crimes like homicide. The release of such information has sparked criticism of current immigration policies and raised questions about the effectiveness of immigration enforcement efforts in addressing the presence of individuals with criminal histories in the country. Efforts to locate and detain these individuals require significant resources and collaboration with state and local jurisdictions.
