Obama Releases 36,000 Illegals Immigrant Criminals on the Unsuspecting Public
"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 ... The Administration's actions are outrageous. They willfully and knowingly put the interests of criminal immigrants before the safety and security of the American people." - Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

In what the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Lamar Smith (R-TX) called "the worst prison break in American history," we now know that the Obama administration last year freed tens of thousands of illegal immigrants convicted of violent and serious crimes, according to the government's own records. And this, of course, comes on top of the administration implementing a flagrant amnesty plan that defies Congress and the rule of law.

Make no mistake about it, the crimes committed by the tens of thousands of illegal aliens who Obama's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) freed from federal custody in just one year were not minor miscreants or mere traffic law offenders. The freed felons included murderers, rapists, kidnappers, and brutal thugs. In all, ICE freed 36,007 aliens convicted of 88,000 crimes from detention centers throughout the United States, according to the breathtaking agency records obtained this month by a nonpartisan research center dedicated to studying immigration issues.

As Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions said on the floor of the Senate, "These are serious crimes, and criminals, if you'll recall and kept up with news, are the only group this administration says we are deporting. They don't even deny that they're not deporting others who have violated our immigration laws but they promised faithfully they are faithfully removing people who commit crimes unrelated to immigration. Well, that's being proven not to be so."

The Washington, DC-based group Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), published a chart with a breakdown of the crimes committed by the illegal aliens who now freely roam the streets in unsuspecting U.S. neighborhoods. Of note is that the majority of the releases from ICE custody were discretionary, CIS found. That means they weren't required by law. In fact, in some instances the releases were actually contrary to law. And local illegal immigrant sanctuary policies did not play a role in the vast majority. This indicates that it's part of the Obama administration's broader amnesty policy, which has favored letting illegal aliens live outside detention centers while their cases get resolved.

A quick look at the breakdown of crimes committed by this latest batch of freed illegal aliens is enough to make any law-abiding American citizen fear for their safety. The records show that:

• Over 9,000 had dangerous drug convictions

• 1,075 were convicted of aggravated assault

• 426 had committed sexual assault

• 1,160 of had stolen vehicle convictions

• More than 16,000 were convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol

• A stunning 193 of the freed illegal aliens had been convicted of murder.

Thousands of others were convicted of lesser crimes that are nevertheless serious enough to merit detention if you're already in the country illegally. Those offenses include extortion, embezzlement, arson, domestic violence, property crimes, larceny, burglary, intimidation, obstructing police, weapon offenses, forgery, obstructing the judiciary and a variety of fraud. Those who take the time to read the entire list may find it difficult to imagine that the government would even consider freeing these offenders. And yet, now, thanks to the Obama administration, they are all out on the streets, free to continue their criminal behavior. As Rep. Smith said, the Obama administration, "willfully and knowingly put the interests of criminal immigrants before the safety and security of the American people."

Incredibly, it's not the first time this has happened. The feds previously released 68,000 other criminal aliens encountered by ICE officers in jails rather than processing them for deportation, according to records obtained by CIS. This latest batch of 36,007 is a group of aliens who had actually been processed for removal and were freed while awaiting the final disposition of their cases. Despite their serious criminal convictions, they were released by means of bond, order of recognizance, order of supervision, parole or alternative detention such as an ankle bracelet.

In its report, CIS logically concludes, "The document raises questions about the Obama administration's management of enforcement resources, as well as its enforcement plans and priorities." As examples, the group offers a recent ICE directive (prosecutorial discretion) and policy (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) which make broad categories of illegal immigrants immune to enforcement. "These policies have forced ICE officers in the field to avoid or cease deportation action in thousands of cases, even in cases of aliens charged with or convicted of crimes," CIS reveals.

As regular readers of the Weekly Update will recall, this is hardly the first time the government has rewarded illegal immigrants with serious criminal records. Last summer Judicial Watch reported that legislation crafted by the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" in the U.S. Senate would grant amnesty to illegal aliens with drunk-driving, domestic violence, aggravated assault and child abuse convictions. In our report, we noted that groups that would normally be vocal on these sorts of issues remained silent, apparently for fear of not being politically correct. For example we offered the nation's largest organization working to stop drunk driving and support victims of the violent crime - Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MAAD) - the opportunity to speak out. They refused even though it will essentially reward those convicted of driving drunk. MADD said it "doesn't get involved in immigration matters."

Last year's wholesale release of convicted illegal alien criminals is part and parcel of the Obama administration's relentless attempts to curry favor with those who support illegal amnesty. Documents obtained by Judicial Watch in June 2013 revealed that the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) abandoned required background checks in 2012, adopting, instead, costly "lean and lite" procedures. The documents also revealed that, contrary to administration claim that Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policies applied only to minors who came to this country illegally "through no fault of their own," the directive actually created a new avenue of chain migration, whereby immediate relatives of DACA requesters could be approved for amnesty. As a result, according to an agency memo from District 15 Director David Douglas, "some of the districts closer to the U.S./Mexico border have been inundated."

So, the bottom line is that the Obama administration has rolled out the welcome mat for illegal immigrants. And once they arrive, they are allowed to stay - even if they have been convicted of the most heinous crimes imaginable.

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