Illegal alien “sanctuaries” in the U.S. are allowing convicted, dangerous criminals to victimize the very communities protecting them from detention, a letter from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) warns.
Back on March 13 of this year, Rep. Gonzales led a group of two dozen members of Congress who sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressing “serious concerns with sanctuary city policies that shield criminal illegal aliens from federal law enforcement.”
The “willful failure of sanctuary cities to hold criminal noncitizens in custody after federal law enforcement has issued detainers for their arrest” has “led to the release of violent offenders into American communities, posing a direct threat to public safety,” the letter explains:
“Due to your administration’s unlawful abuse of catch-and-release policies, criminal aliens are being set free onto our streets, only to be protected by sanctuary cities that have no regard for our federal laws.”
As an example, the lawmakers cite a deadly case that made national headlines:
“Our nation was devastated by the horrific death of Laken Riley, a nursing student from Augusta University, who was murdered by an illegal alien from Venezuela. Laken’s perpetrator had previously been arrested in New York City, only to be released by local authorities despite a detainer being issued against him.”
The letter asks for sanctuary jurisdiction data, such as the number arrests of illegal aliens made by local municipalities, the number of illegal aliens convicted of crimes who were released into communities and the number of immigration detainers received – but then declined – by local jurisdictions.
On Wednesday – more than six months past the letter’s March 22 deadline – ICE Deputy Director Patrick J. Lechleitner responded to the Congress members’ request.
Deputy Director Lechleitner’s letter describes how the proliferation of sanctuaries is enabling dangerous illegal aliens to victimize the very communities providing sanctuary:
“In recent years, however, as you know, some jurisdictions have reduced their cooperation with ICE, to include refusal to honor ICE detainer requests, even for noncitizens who have been convicted of serious felonies and pose an ongoing threat to public safety.”
Indeed, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) recently added about 170 new sanctuaries to its count, bringing the total to more than 330 individual counties and cities – and more than a dozen sanctuary states – throughout the U.S.
As a result, 95% of illegal alien detainers lifted by ICE over a span of nearly four years have been lifted because they were declined by state and local enforcement agencies, ICE reports in its letter:
“Regarding the number of declined detainers since FY 2021, from October 1, 2020, through July 22, 2024, ICE lifted 24,796 detainers. Of those, 23,591 were declined by state and local law enforcement agencies, and 1,205 were lifted due to insufficient notice to ICE.
“Additionally, from October 1, 2020, through July 22, 2024, ERO issued 2,897 detainers that were declined by state or local law enforcement agencies and where the subject of the detainer had a subsequent apprehension by ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations).”
Thus, while it’s important for federal agencies to foster the trust of immigrant communities, “‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities,” ICE warns.