The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knows about 662,556 noncitizens with criminal histories but only has about 15,000 of them detained. Where are the rest? They’re not sure.
Of these offenders that are known, over 100,000 are accused of assault, 15,000 are accused of burglary, 70,000 are accused of “dangerous” drug crimes, 15,000 are accused of murder, 3,000 are accused of kidnapping, and over 30,000 are accused of sexual assault or sex offenses.
Why does the government know about these criminals and not detain or deport them? A letter reporting this from ICE to Representative Tony Gonzales explains that they only have about 41,000 beds to house detainees. Also, local law officials won’t work with ICE once a criminal is identified because – you guessed it – sanctuary cities. The letter points out that “‘sanctuary” policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities.”
