White House mum amid outrage over data showing how many illegal immigrant criminals are free in US
The White House has yet to comment on new data released to lawmakers showing the number of illegal immigrants with convictions for sex offenses and homicide convictions who are not in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.
The agency provided data to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, about illegal immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. The data, as of July 2024, is broken down by those in detention and those who are not in detention, known as the non-detained docket.
The non-detained docket includes noncitizens who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not in ICE custody.
There are more than 7.4 million people on that docket, up from around 3.7 million when former President Trump left office.
The data shows that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges. The data does not reveal how many of those criminals are recent arrivals.
For comparison, in August 2016, toward the end of the Obama administration, ICE said there were about 2.2 million noncitizens on the non-detained docket and about 368,574 were convicted criminals.
In the latest data, the criminals include 62,231 convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions, and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions. There are an additional 1,845 with pending homicide charges, 42,915 with assault charges, 3,266 with burglary charges and 4,250 with assault charges.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the data and whether it had been aware of the numbers. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign also did not comment. Harris is at the southern border in Arizona.
Fox News Digital has also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security.
The news sparked outrage from Republicans, who tied the numbers to the policies of the Biden administration and those sanctuary jurisdictions who refuse to cooperate with ICE.
Rep, Gonzalez called the data "beyond disturbing" and said "it should be a wake-up call for the Biden-Harris administration and cities across the country that hide behind sanctuary policies."
"It’s time for Washington to move past rhetoric and toward results. Americans deserve to feel safe in their communities. As an appropriator, I will do everything in my power to ensure ICE has the resources necessary to deport noncitizens with a criminal record. This must be a priority," Gonzalez said in a statement.
"The Biden-Harris administration also plays a part in cleaning up the mess their failed policies have created. They have the ear of sanctuary city mayors. It’s time to encourage them to reverse course and put the safety of American citizens first."
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said the release of illegal immigrants into the U.S. "defies all common sense."
"This is madness. It is something no civilized, well-functioning society should tolerate," he said.
In the letter to Gonzalez, ICE took aim at so-called "sanctuary" cities that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement in deporting illegal immigrant criminals.
"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. However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities," it said.
It also stressed DHS’s efforts to remove illegal immigrants.
"From mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals, including more than 138,300 individuals in family units. The majority of all individuals encountered at the Southwest Border over the past three years have been removed, returned or expelled."
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The Biden administration has prioritized the removal of public safety and national security threats in narrowed priorities it released in 2021, but critics have linked those priorities with a drop in ICE removals.
Republicans have blamed the border crisis on the policies of the administration, including rolling back Trump policies that limited "catch and release."
The administration has said it needs more funding and reforms from Congress, including via a bipartisan Senate bill introduced this year. That bill would increase the number of ICE detention beds, but critics of the administration have pointed to numbers showing not all beds are being filled currently.
Asked about the increase in the non-detained docket this summer, a White House spokesperson pointed to that bill.
"Congressional Republicans had an opportunity to support the fairest and toughest set of reforms in decades, and they chose to put partisan political interests ahead of fixing our immigration system and securing our borders," the spokesperson said.
"Congressional Republicans have proven that they do not care about securing our border because, frankly, if they did, they would have supported the bipartisan agreement."
The data’s release comes as Harris visits the southern border in Arizona and seeks to present herself as tougher on the border than former President Trump, who she blames for the border bill not passing.
"Donald Trump tanked a bill to improve border security — just so he can win this election," she said Friday. "As I have shown throughout my career, I won’t back down from my plan to make our border more secure."
Fox News' Bill Melugin contributed to this report.