Thread: ICE Document Details 36,000 Criminal Alien Releases in 2013

ICE Document Details 36,000 Criminal Alien Releases in 2013

Published on Monday, 12 May 2014 08:37 Written by Jessica M. Vaughan

In 2013, ICE freed 36,007 convicted criminal aliens from detention who were awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings, according to a document obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies. This group included aliens convicted of hundreds of violent and serious crimes, including homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. The list of crimes also includes more than 16,000 drunk or drugged driving convictions. The vast majority of these releases from ICE custody were discretionary, not required by law (in fact, in some instances, apparently contrary to law), nor the result of local sanctuary policies.The document reveals that the 36,007 convicted criminal aliens freed from ICE custody in many instances had multiple convictions.

Among them, the 36,007 had nearly 88,000 convictions, including:

• 193 homicide convictions (including one willful killing of a public official with gun)
• 426 sexual assault convictions
• 303 kidnapping convictions
• 1,075 aggravated assault convictions
• 1,160 stolen vehicle convictions
• 9,187 dangerous drug convictions
• 16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions
• 303 flight escape convictions

BackgroundThis enumeration of FY 2013 criminal aliens freed and the criminal convictions tied to these individuals was prepared by ICE in response to congressional inquiries following a report published by the Center for Immigration Studies. That report, “Catch and Release”, showed that ICE officers declined to bring immigration charges in 68,000 cases of criminal aliens they encountered in 2013.

Criminal Convictions of Aliens Released from ICE Custody on 2013

It is important to recognize that the 36,007 criminal aliens counted in this document are a different set of cases from the 68,000 releases reported earlier. The 36,007 criminal aliens counted here are aliens who were being processed for deportation and were freed while awaiting the final disposition of their cases, or afterwards. The 68,000 releases were cases of alien criminals encountered by ICE officers, usually in jails, but who were let go in lieu of processing them for immigration removal charges in that year.The 36,007 criminal aliens itemized in this document were released by means of bond; order of recognizance (unsupervised); order of supervision (which can consist of nothing more than a periodic telephone call to a designated ICE telephone number); an alternative to detention (such as an electronic ankle bracelet, or other form of tracking device); or parole (a form of legal status). The ICE document does not specify the number or type of criminal aliens released according to the form of release.Separate information obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies reveals that the vast majority of these releases were discretionary, or even contrary to the requirements of various provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Only a small share of these criminal aliens (fewer than 3,000) were released in accordance with a 2001 Supreme Court decision, Zadvydas v. Davis, which prevents ICE from indefinitely detaining certain aliens whose countries will not accept them back.

(See “Reining in Zadvydas v. Davis”.) Another small number may have been offered parole or legal status, either in exchange for their cooperation with ICE or another law enforcement agency in connection with a criminal prosecution, or because of another compelling public interest.

Analysis

This document raises questions about the Obama administration’s management of enforcement resources, as well as its enforcement plans and priorities. For instance, a series of directives to ICE agents and officers known as “prosecutorial discretion”, and the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, have made certain broad categories of illegal aliens off-limits for enforcement. These policies have forced ICE officers in the field to avoid or cease deportation action in thousands of cases, ,a href="http://cis.org/vaughan/lawsuit-documents-criminal-alien-releases-decline-enforcement-cooked-statistics" target="_blank">even in cases of aliens charged with or convicted of crimes. ICE officers have testified in federal court that some arrested aliens have claimed to be eligible for DACA knowing that they likely will be released from custody and from immigration charges without verification of their claims. ICE should be asked to disclose how many and which of the 36,007 criminal alien releases occurred due to these recent policy changes.In addition, over the last year certain advocacy groups have called for the Obama administration to scale back the number of deportations or halt them altogether. A number of criminal aliens in detention while awaiting completion of deportation proceedings have been the subject of petition campaigns, prayer vigils, demonstrations, and other forms of protest against enforcement. Typically these protests occur on behalf of a criminal alien who has family members in the United States. ICE should be asked to disclose how many of these releases came after such appeals were made on behalf of criminal aliens.These figures call into question President Obama’s request to Congress for permission to reduce immigration detention capacity by 10 percent in favor of permission to make wider use of experimental alternatives to detention. These alternatives already are subject to serious questions about their efficacy and cost, and ICE’s methodology for evaluating the results needs to be carefully scrutinized. The reduced detention bed-space request, submitted as part of the executive branch’s budget plan, comes at a time in which ICE’s detention space needs are expanding due to rapidly increasing illegal arrivals along parts of the southwest border and continued high numbers of criminal aliens encountered by agents in the interior. The news that ICE released so many criminal aliens convicted of so many serious and violent crimes suggests that ICE could use more detention capacity, not less, in order to prevent further harm to the public from these individuals. ICE should be asked to track and disclose what additional crimes may have been committed by these individuals after their release.ICE devotes very few resources to victim assistance and notification programs, and these meager efforts are focused primarily on helping victims of human trafficking rather than those who have been harmed by alien criminals.

In fact, the only “ombudsman” type of position ICE has established — and maintained even in the face of specific congressional de-funding of the position — focuses on aiding illegal aliens, not their victims. ICE should establish a notification system, modeled on the most successful federal, state, or local victim-witness assistance programs, to alert the victims of alien criminals, local law enforcement agencies, and the public when violent or dangerous criminal aliens are released from its custody.The criminal aliens released in 2013 had more than 300 convictions for “flight escape,” indicating that they had a prior history of fleeing from authorities. Experience (and common sense) suggests that such individuals would be poor candidates for release while awaiting possible deportation. Studies have shown that less than a quarter of aliens who are released from custody while awaiting the outcome of immigration proceedings will show up for immigration court to finish their case. The departments of Homeland Security and Justice should be asked to disclose how many of these criminal aliens became fugitives after their release from ICE custody.

Conclusion

The revelation that 36,007 criminal aliens were released from ICE custody in 2013, an average of nearly 100 per day, is shocking, and could further shake public faith in the effectiveness of current immigration enforcement policies. This information is sure to raise concerns that, despite professions of a focus on removal of criminal aliens, Obama administration policies frequently have allowed political considerations to trump public safety factors and, as a result, aliens with serious criminal convictions have been allowed to return to the streets instead of being removed to their home countries.DHS

Secretary Jeh Johnson is on the verge of announcing the results of a review of deportation policies, ordered by the president in response to immigrant advocacy group protests. Most observers believe this review will result in policy changes to further expand the number and categories of illegal aliens who effectively are exempt from immigration enforcement and, if experience is a guide, will further increase the number of criminal aliens who are released instead of deported.

Lawmakers and the public must insist that DHS fully disclose and be held accountable for the public safety impact of any additional deportation policy changes.Source: Center for Immigration Studies Jessica M. Vaughan serves as Director of Policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, DC-based research institute that examines the impact of immigration on American society and educates policymakers and opinion leaders on immigration issues.

Vaughan's archive and blog can be found here.The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization. Since our founding in 1985, we have pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States.

http://www.rightsidenews.com/2014051...s-in-2013.html

Realtime Coverage

Feds released hundreds of immigrant murderers, drunken drivers, sex-crimes ... Washington Times - ‎38 minutes ago‎ Immigration officials knowingly released dozens of murderers back into the U.S. in 2013, according to Obama administration statistics detailing all of the criminal convictions of the more than 36,000 immigrants released from custody last year. The numbers ... ICE Document Details 36000 Criminal Alien Releases in 2013 Right Side News - ‎2 hours ago‎ Aliens with Serious Criminal Convictions Freed from Detention Newswire (press release) - ‎1 hour ago‎ WASHINGTON, May 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies reports a threat to public safety by the release of 36,007 criminal illegal aliens in 2013 who were being processed for deportation, but were not ...

Sorry, but the republican controlled house has the power to instigate impeachment proceedings, so they must swallow a shore of this without escape!! The only reason they will not is because Obama is doing what republican based big business wants done!

It can widely be seen that republicans in Washington want Amnesty just as strongly as Obama, I said that in 1986, it appears i was right. The great leader of the party signed that damned amnesty. republicans have been soft on aliens since, because employers saw the opening supplied by Reagan! That was a huge mistake, easily seen then, and glaring now!

I believe that Mr. Gheen is right, it is time for another, but a responsible political party!!! A party that can foresee consequences of what they are doing, but when wrong act responsibly enough to accept their errors, admit them then correct them. That is performance as an adult!

by Kristin Tate 12 May 2014, 12:17 PM PDT
breitbart



Over 36,000 criminals, including almost 200 murderers, were released back into the U.S. by immigration officials in 2013, according to fresh federal statistics obtained by Breitbart Texas. The figures, which were gathered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), were outlined in a report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).

According to the CIS, the 36,000 criminals were collectively convicted of 88,000 crimes. These convictions include 426 sexual assaults, 303 kidnappings, 193 homicides, 1,317 domestic violence assaults, and 1,724 weapon offenses.

The report states that the immigrants were being processed for deportation at the time they were released. ICE could have held these individuals in detention, "but released them anyway," according to a report by the Washington Times. The CIS added that many of the releases were likely "discretionary," and not in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act.

In her analysis of the newly-released figures, Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies at the CIS wrote, "This document raises questions about the Obama administration’s management of enforcement resources, as well as its enforcement plans and priorities. ... The news that ICE released so many criminal aliens convicted of so many serious and violent crimes suggests that ICE could use more detention capacity, not less, in order to prevent further harm to the public from these individuals. ICE should be asked to track and disclose what additional crimes may have been committed by these individuals after their release."

The statistics could not have been released at a more inconvenient time for the Obama administration, which has vehemently claimed that it is aiming enforcement at dangerous individuals.

Vaughan said, "We keep hearing from the administration that they are focused like a laser on enforcement against the worst of the worst, convicted criminals, as their top priority. On the other hand, they are releasing, at a rate of about 100 a day, aliens from their custody with criminal convictions, and many of them are serious criminal convictions."

The fresh statistics suggest that political motives, rather than public safety motives, are behind the Obama administration's deportation policies. Over the last several years, numerous advocacy groups have demanded that the administration drastically reduce the total number of deportations.

Since 2009, deportations have decreased over 40 percent due to the Obama administration using "prosecutorial discretion" for many cases. Critics of this practice claim the U.S. has become less safe in recent years, due to undocumented criminals who may no longer fear being deported. Often it is Border Patrol agents who are the victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants--many of whom have lengthy criminal histories but remain in the U.S. regardless.

Vaughan concluded, "Aliens with serious criminal convictions have been allowed to return to the streets instead of being removed to their home countries. ... [Department of Homeland Security] DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson is on the verge of announcing the results of a review of deportation policies, ordered by the president in response to immigrant advocacy group protests. Lawmakers and the public must insist that DHS fully disclose and be held accountable for the public safety impact of any additional deportation policy changes."

Perhaps the recent revelation that 36,007 criminals were released back onto the U.S. streets, rather than detained or sent back to their home countries, will prompt a closer look at current ICE practices and their effectiveness.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-T...treets-in-2013

by Caroline May 12 May 2014, 2:26 PM PDT
breitbart



A murder or assault conviction is no guarantee an immigrant will be deported or even remain in detention, an internal Department of Homeland Security document reveals.

According to the document, obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies and shared with Breitbart News Monday, last year the Obama administration released 36,007 immigrants convicted of a nearly 88,000 crimes, including homicide and sexual assault.

To be sure, these statistics include prior offenses, for which the convicted alien could have previously served time.

Some of the most striking crimes, however, included 193 homicide convictions (including the murder of a public official), 426 sexual assault convictions, 9,187 dangerous drugs convictions, 1,075 aggravated assault convictions, and 228 kidnapping convictions.

The categories with the greatest number of convictions were traffic offenses 17,228, followed by convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs with 16,070.

(See the complete list of convictions at the bottom of this article.)

The method of release for these criminal aliens included bond, order of recognizance, order of supervision, a detention alternative, and parole.

According to a CIS report released Monday, the internal document was prepared by ICE to respond to a congressional inquiry pressing the agency on data from a March report from the CIS dealing with the 68,000 criminal aliens ICE encountered and subsequently released in 2013.

Jessica Vaughan, the Director of Policy Studies at CIS and author of Monday's report, noted the 36,007 criminal aliens spelled out in the new internal document are a separate category from the 68,000 criminal aliens ICE encountered and released without filing immigration charges, spelled out in CIS’s earlier report.

“These figures suggest that despite claims of a focus on public safety, the administration's prosecutorial discretion criteria are allowing factors such as family relationships, political considerations, or attention from advocacy groups to trump criminal convictions as a factor leading to deportation,” the March report read.

The 36,007 criminal aliens highlighted in this most recent document, according to Vaughan, were individuals who were being processed for deportation and released prior or after the conclusion of their deportation cases.

In her Monday report, Vaughan noted that she has separate information showing that the majority of the releases were "discretionary" and "even contrary to the requirements of various provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act."

"Only a small share of these criminal aliens (fewer than 3,000) were released in accordance with a 2001 Supreme Court decision, Zadvydas v. Davis, which prevents ICE from indefinitely detaining certain aliens whose countries will not accept them back... Another small number may have been offered parole or legal status, either in exchange for their cooperation with ICE or another law enforcement agency in connection with a criminal prosecution, or because of another compelling public interest," she wrote.

News of these releases come following President Obama’s March directive to DHS for a review of his administration’s immigration enforcement policies, specifically deportation, seeking a manner of enforcement “more humanely within the confines of the law.”

In April, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 21 Republican senators accused Obama of trying to further weaken immigration law with the review.

“Clearly, the urgent task facing your administration is to improve immigration enforcement, not to look for new ways to weaken it,” they wrote. “Since 2009, your administration has issued policy directives and memoranda incrementally nullifying immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States — to the point that unless individuals in the country illegally are apprehended, tried, and convicted for a felony or other serious offense, they are free to live and work in the country.”

Vaughan concluded of the new document, "This information is sure to raise concerns that, despite professions of a focus on removal of criminal aliens, Obama administration policies frequently have allowed political considerations to trump public safety factors and, as a result, aliens with serious criminal convictions have been allowed to return to the streets instead of being removed to their home countries."

ICE could not immediately comment but told Breitbart News they are looking into the CIS report.

Full list of crimes:

Traffic Offense-Traffic Offense 17,228

Traffic Offense-Driving Under Influence Liquor 15,635

Dangerous Drugs 9,187

Larceny 5,055

Immigration 3,958

Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc.3,245

General Crimes 2,867

Assault 2,691

Public Peace 2,608

Burglary 2,510

Fraudulent Activities 2,394

Obstructing the Police 2,104

Weapon Offenses 1,724

Domestic Violence 1,317

Battery 1,267

Invasion of Privacy 1,249

Forgery 1,216

Stolen Vehicle 1,160

Stolen Property 1,131

Family Offenses 1,099

Assault – Aggravated Assault 1,075

Robbery 790

Sex Offenses (not involving Assault or Commercialized Sex) 727

Damage Property 725

Traffic Offense-Hit and Run 647

Commercialized Sexual Offenses 606

Liquor 447

Traffic Offense-Driving Under Influence Drugs 435

Sexual Assault 426

Health/Safety 425

Simple Assault 395

Flight Escape 303

Kidnapping 228

Threat 167

Intimidation 141

Homicide 116

Gambling 62

Extortion 53

Juvenile Offenders 52

Embezzlement 51

Conservation 49

Arson 47

Tax Revenue 36

Smuggling 26

Homicide – Negligent Manslaughter-Vehicle 24

Obscenity 21

Homicide – Negligent Manslaughter-Weapon 19

Bribery 15

Voluntary-Manslaughter 14

Traffic Offense-Transporting Dangerous Material 11

Homicide-Willful Kill-Gun 10

Homicide-Willful Kill-Weapon 9

Homicide-Willful Kill-Non-Family-Weapon 6

Homicide-Willful Kill-Non-Family-Gun 5

Sovereignty-Treason, Sabotage 4

Homicide-Willful Kill-Family-Gun 2

Abortion-Abortifacient (selling, manufacturing, delivering, etc.) 1

Military-Military Desertion 1

Homicide-Willful Kill-Family-Weapon 1

Homicide-Willful Kill-Public Official-Gun 1

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...nvicts-in-2013

by Caroline May 12 May 2014, 4:23 PM PDT
breitbart



House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith expressed outrage at a new report detailing the 36,007 convicted criminal immigrants released back into the United States last year.

“Regardless of one’s position on the larger immigration reform question, it’s incredibly alarming that tens of thousands of convicted criminal aliens – including hundreds of murderers, kidnappers, and rapists – who were processed for deportation are being freed into our communities by the Obama Administration,” Goodlatte and Smith said in a joint statement Monday.

“The truth is that most could be detained by immigration enforcement authorities if the Administration had the will to do so. These criminals should be locked up, not roaming our streets,” they added.

Monday the Center for Immigration Studies released a report detailing data from an internal document, breaking down the 36,007 released criminal immigrants' nearly 88,000 convictions – including 193 homicide convictions, 16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions, 9,187 dangerous drug convictions, and 426 sexual assault convictions.

“Unfortunately, history tells us that many will go on to become fugitives from the law and commit additional crimes against American citizens and law-abiding immigrants. We must hold the Department of Homeland Security accountable for its actions and make sure it does everything possible to protect U.S. citizens from dangerous criminal aliens,” the pair said.

In April the House Judiciary Committee pressed DHS for the information contained in the report, following up on an earlier inquiry Smith made in February. According to the committee DHS has yet to respond to their April letter.

“This information is important to inform Congress about the problem of criminal aliens so that we make the right policy decisions moving forward,” Goodlatte and Smith said. “The Committee plans to hold an oversight hearing on DHS in the coming weeks and will expect Secretary Johnson to come clean and provide the Committee with answers to our questions.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...anning-hearing

Added an article above to the Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/content.php?r=2...nvicts-in-2013

Added another article from above to the Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/content.php?r=2...earing-Planned

Lamar Smith Calls ICE Release of 36,000 Criminal Immigrants a President-Sanctioned Prison Break

by Caroline May 13 May 2014, 6:15 AM PDT
breitbart



Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith reacted harshly to a new report detailing the crimes committed by 36,007 criminal immigrants that Immigration and Customs Enforcement released last year.

“This would be considered the worst prison break in American history, except it was sanctioned by the President and perpetrated by our own immigration officials. These criminal immigrants should have been deported to ensure that they could never commit crimes on U.S. soil. But instead, ICE officials chose not to detain them and instead released them back onto American streets,” Smith said in a statement Monday.

An internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies, a limited immigration group, and shared with Breitbart News Monday revealed that last year ICE released 36,007 criminal immigrants who had nearly 88,000 convictions.

The document further broke down the crimes and number of convictions – including 193 homicide convictions, 426 sexual assault convictions, 303 kidnapping convictions, and 1,075 aggravated assault convictions.

CIS detailed the document’s findings in a report Monday morning, explaining that ICE prepared the document in response to congressional inquiries seeking additional information about the number of criminal aliens released into the United States and the crimes for which they were convicted.

Smith was one of the members of Congress who pressed DHS for these answers.

The congressman actually did receive a response from DHS earlier this year explaining that ICE did release 36,007 criminal aliens. DHS also included a breakdown of the kinds of offenses but did not include the number of offenses per type of crime.

“Obama administration officials want the American people to think these individuals were guilty of minor, petty offenses,” Smith said. “But the convictions tell a chilling story. Among those released were criminal immigrants convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, drunk driving, and aggravated assault.”

The Texas congressman added that immigration reform should be off the table until laws currently on the books are enforced.

“There should be no discussion of reforming our nation’s immigration laws until the President enforces the laws currently on the books. The safety of the American people should be the President’s top priority. We need a President who follows the law and deports criminal immigrants who violate our laws and endanger our lives.”

ICE has not responded to the CIS report, but told Breitbart News Monday morning they are looking into it.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...d-prison-break

Originally Posted by kevinssdad

It can widely be seen that republicans in Washington want Amnesty just as strongly as Obama

If that was true, we would already have an amnesty bill for Obama to sign. I do agree that too many Republicans, especially the so-called leadership, are willing to forsake us for more immigrant visas because of pressure from the Chamber of Commerce, but the majority of Republicans still do not support amnesty for illegal immigrants.