The deputy director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says regardless of the nation’s “broken immigration system,” noncitizens are being eliminated and returned at “record numbers.”
In a letter despatched to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, of Texas, final week, Patrick J. Lechleitner offered knowledge highlighting the troubles confronted alongside the southern border and the variety of noncitizens being eliminated.
As of July, there have been 662,566 noncitizens with legal histories on ICE’s nationwide docket, Lechleitner mentioned. Of these, 435,719 are convicted criminals and 226,847 have pending legal costs, he added.
Greater than 100,000 unlawful immigrants — convicted criminals and people pending legal costs — who’ve been charged with assault usually are not being detained.
Greater than 30,000 charged with a sex-natured offense are out on the road, whereas 14,000-plus usually are not detained on murder costs, and over 70,000 charged on harmful drug offenses are additionally out, in line with the info.
“ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations,” Lechleitner wrote in his letter to Gonzales. “However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities.”
From mid-Could 2023 via the tip of July 2024, the Division of Homeland Safety has returned greater than 893,600 unlawful immigrants, together with greater than 138,300 people in household items, figures present. Lechleitner wrote that almost all of noncitizens seeking to cross the southern border have been “removed, returned or expelled” over the previous three years.
“We are removing and returning record numbers of migrants who are unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States,” he wrote, “and prioritizing for removal those who present national security and public safety risks, and recent border crossers.”
