More than 13,000 immigrants, convicted of homicide either in the United States or abroad, are currently living freely in America, according to the country's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These individuals are not in ICE detention but part of the agency's “non-detained” docket, meaning they are known to ICE but are not currently prioritised for detention or cannot be located.
The revelation was made in response to a request from Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas in March, with the statistics collected as of July 21. Acting ICE Director P.J. Lechleitner provided the information as part of his response.
Sharing the information on X (formerly Twitter), Gonzales wrote, “As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE's national docket—13,099 criminally convicted MURDERS! Americans deserve to be SAFE in our communities.”
The timeline of when the first of the 13,000 individuals entered the US remains unclear. Two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the data explained that many of the immigrants, including those convicted of serious crimes, entered the country under previous administrations, including that of former President Donald Trump. These individuals are now awaiting immigration hearings but remain at large in the country, reported NBC News.
On Friday, during a campaign event in Michigan, the Republican nominee used the figures to criticise the Joe Biden administration's immigration policies, specifically calling out Vice President Kamala Harris. “These are hard, tough, vicious criminals that are free to roam in our country,” Trump said, adding, “I can finally look at them and say ‘I told you so,' to the fake news.”
While the White House has yet to respond to the numbers, one official noted the administration was caught off-guard by the timing of the disclosure. The figures shed light on the complex and often fragmented immigration enforcement system, where federal, state, and local authorities sometimes fail to coordinate effectively.
The NBC News report said that according to law enforcement sources, some of these individuals may have crossed the border and been released because the US Border Patrol lacked information on their criminal histories at the time. In many cases, the US is only notified of an immigrant's criminal conviction after they enter the country. Furthermore, migrants who have completed their prison sentences may be released by local or state authorities without ICE being informed, particularly in sanctuary cities, making it more difficult for the agency to locate and detain them.
The law enforcement officials told NBC News that ICE prioritises arresting migrants convicted of serious crimes, such as homicide but they also highlighted that the agency's limited resources pose challenges in tracking down and arresting all those on the list. ICE currently has over 7.5 million immigrants on its “non-detained” docket, meaning they have pending immigration cases but are not in custody.
Lechleitner told NBC News that despite these challenges, there has been an increase in cooperation from local jurisdictions, with some re-evaluating their sanctuary city policies amid rising concerns over migrant crime.
