Thread: Doocy Asks KJP Point-Blank If 13,000 Illegal Migrants With Prior ‘Murder’ Convictions

Doocy Asks KJP Point-Blank If 13,000 Illegal Migrants With Prior ‘Murder’ Convictions Roaming US Poses ‘Danger’

by Daily Caller News Foundation
September 30, 2024 at 5:00 pm
in News, Wire



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Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy confronted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday about the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants convicted of homicide freely roaming throughout the U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded a total of 13,099 illegal immigrants convicted of homicide are currently roaming the U.S. as of July 21, according to a Wednesday letter delivered to Republican Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales. Jean-Pierre claimed the data presented by ICE is a “false representation” of reality.
“Thirteen-thousand people who’ve been convicted of murder crossed the border illegally and are living among us,” Doocy began. “So how much danger are U.S. communities in right now because of this?”

“I think it’s important to correct the record here, first of all, the false representation of the data ICE shared, so that’s what we’re seeing, false representation. I got to call that out,” Jean-Pierre said. “We got to call that out, and this has been fact-checked by some of your colleagues here, by multiple, multiple, multiple outlets. That has been debunked on what has been falsely misrepresented here, so we have to call that out.”

WATCH: Doocy Asks KJP Point-Blank How Much Danger Americans Are In (rumble.com)

The press secretary explained that the number of illegal immigrants convicted of these crimes that are out in the open is misleading. She argued that agencies must assure they are not “lying” to the American people.
“If we’re going to report something, and data that’s out there, we got to do it in the way that is not confusing the American people and certainly not lying,” the press secretary continued. “And so, this has been fact-checked, and so the way that is being falsely represented here is just not okay and I got to be really clear about that.”

Among those also roaming freely are 15,811 illegal immigrants convicted of sexual assault and another 14,301 convicted of burglary, according to the letter. Over 662,566 non-citizens with criminal histories were on ICE’s national docket as of July 21, according to the letter.

Among those are 435,719 convicted criminals and another 226,847 who have pending criminal charges, according to the letter.
The agency further detailed how sanctuary cities are making it difficult for agents to arrest convicted migrants as these cities allegedly ignore detainer requests for criminal aliens.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News that the data is being misrepresented as those numbers go back four decades. It is not currently clear when the first of the 13,000 illegal migrants convicted of homicide crossed into the U.S.
Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, is charged with murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley outside of the University of Georgia’s campus in February. A 23-year-old illegal immigrant named Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was arrested in June for the alleged rape and murder of 37-year-old Rachel Morin.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/White House press briefing)
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Doocy Asks KJP Point-Blank If 13,000 Illegal Migrants With Prior ‘Murder’ Convictions Roaming US Poses ‘Danger’ – IJR

More than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide are living outside immigration detention in the U.S., ICE says

Two law enforcement officials said many of those migrants crossed into the U.S. under previous administrations, and that the total includes people serving U.S. prison sentences.


A U.S. Border Patrol agent at the border in 2022 near Douglas, Ariz. John Moore / Getty Images file

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Sept. 28, 2024, 9:30 AM EDT / Updated Sept. 28, 2024, 3:50 PM EDT

By Julia Ainsley, Laura Strickler and Gabe Gutierrez

More than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide — either in the United States or abroad — are living outside of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, according to data ICE provided to Congress earlier this week.

The immigrants are part of ICE’s “non-detained” docket, meaning the agency has some information on the immigrants and they have pending immigration cases in the U.S., but they are not currently in detention either because they are not prioritized for detention, they are serving time in a jail or prison for their crimes, or because ICE cannot find them, three law enforcement officials said.

Two of the officials said it is not known how many are incarcerated because ICE is not always privy to that data from state and local law enforcement agencies.

Acting ICE Director P.J. Lechleitner sent the data, collected as of July 21, as part of a request sent in March from Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said the data sent to Gonzales is being misinterpreted, and goes back four decades, long before the Biden administration.

Harris makes first trip to U.S. southern border in three years

It is not clear when the first migrant of the 13,000 crossed into the U.S.

Two law enforcement officials familiar with the data told NBC News many of the migrants on ICE’s non-detained docket, including serious criminals, crossed into the U.S. under previous administrations, including that of former President Donald Trump.

A high number of non-detained immigrants with criminal convictions is not new, though it has grown in recent years.

A 2016 DHS Inspector General's report found there were 368,000 criminal immigrants who were not detained by ICE. According to ICE's fiscal year 2023 budget justification, there were 405,786 convicted criminal immigrants on the non-detained docket as of June 5, 2021, just under five months after Trump left office, indicating many crossed during the Trump administration. As of July of this year, according to the data provided by ICE to Rep. Gonzales, over 435,719 convicted criminal immigrants were on ICE's non-detained docket.

A DHS spokesman told NBC News in a statement: "The data in this letter is being misinterpreted. The data goes back decades; it includes people who entered the country over the past 40 year or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this administration. It also includes many who are under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners."

During a campaign stop in Michigan on Friday, Trump used the data to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris for current immigration policies.

“I can finally look at them and say ‘I told you so’ to the fake news,” Trump said. “These are hard, tough, vicious criminals that are free to roam in our country.”

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The White House has yet to comment on the data. One official told NBC News the release of the data came as a surprise to the White House.

The 13,099 immigrants convicted of homicide living in the U.S. may have never had contact with ICE, the two law enforcement officials said. Some may have crossed the border and then been released because Border Patrol lacks information on their criminal history. In many cases, the U.S. is not notified of someone’s criminal conviction until after they cross into the country.

In other cases, migrants convicted of crimes may be released by state and local officials after they serve their time without ICE being notified, as is policy in many sanctuary cities. ICE then has to locate the person after release in order to detain and deport them.

The two law enforcement officials said ICE prioritizes migrants who have been convicted of serious crimes, like homicide, for arrest.

But the agency’s limited resources limit how many they can locate and arrest. There are currently more than 7.5 million immigrants on ICE’s “non-detained” docket, meaning they have pending immigration cases but are not currently in detention.

Lechleitner told NBC News more local jurisdictions are cooperating and starting to rethink their sanctuary policies in light of increased attention on crimes committed by migrants.

NBC News joined ICE agents in Maryland earlier this year when they arrested a man convicted of murder in Colombia and a man convicted of attempted murder in El Salvador.

Agents explained that locating convicted criminals living at large takes an enormous amount of manpower, from locating them to the arrest.

CLARIFICATION (Sept. 28, 2024, 10:00 p.m. ET): This story has been updated to provide additional context for the statistics that was provided by U.S. officials after publication. It now explains that many of the 13,000 migrants may have entered the U.S. decades ago, and also that some may be in jail or prison.

More than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide are living outside immigration detention in the U.S., ICE says (nbcnews.com)

"13,000 murderers" claim: Here's what ICE's numbers say about immigrants

Daniel Miller
October 1, 2024·4 min read

FILE-A Border Patrol agent walks along a line of migrants waiting to turn themselves in to US Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents for processing near the Paso del Norte Port of Entry after crossing the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas on May 9, 2023.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a report detailing immigrants under the agency’s supervision who were either convicted of a crime or facing criminal charges. Data included in the report shows that more than 13,000 migrants were convicted of homicides.
Donald Trump, who has depicted immigrants as bringing lawlessness and crime to America, tweeted multiple screenshots of the data with the words: "13,000 CROSSED THE BORDER WITH MURDER CONVICTIONS."
The Republican presidential candidate suggested that the numbers correspond to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' time in office, the Associated Press reported.

However, the Department of Homeland Security, which supervises ICE, explains that the statistics in the report are misinterpreted, with the agency telling the Associated Press that the data covers decades — including the Trump administration and other presidencies — and immigrants not in ICE custody who may be held by a state or local agency.
RELATED: Immigration and Border Security: Harris vs. Trump
Homeland Security also emphasized what the agency has done to deport those without the right to stay in the U.S., telling the AP it has removed or returned more than 700,000 immigrants in the past year, which it said was the highest number since 2010. The agency said it had removed 180,000 people with criminal convictions since President Joe Biden took office.
ICE made the stats available and sent a letter to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzalez, who made a request for information. The letter listed figures on immigrants with criminal records being tracked by ICE but not detained by the agency.
With immigration being a key issue in the 2024 presidential election, the GOP is focusing on ICE data to support their assertion that the Biden administration is allowing migrants who have committed serious crimes to go free in the U.S.
What does the ICE data reveal?

As of July 21, ICE said 662,556 people under its supervision were either convicted of crimes or face criminal charges. Almost 15,000 were in its custody, but the vast majority — 647,572 — were not.
Included in the figures of immigrants not detained by ICE were people found guilty of very serious crimes: 13,099 for homicide, 15,811 for sexual assault, 13,423 for weapons offenses and 2,663 for stolen cars.
RELATED: Keeping Families In Place: Biden’s new immigration policy opens, what to know
According to the AP, the single biggest category was for traffic-related offenses at 77,074, followed by assault at 62,231 and dangerous drugs at 56,533.
Millions of immigrants are on ICE's "non-detained docket," or immigrants under the agency's supervision who aren't in its custody. The AP noted that many migrants are awaiting the results of their cases in immigration court, and others have been released after completing their prison sentences because their countries won’t take them back.
Can ICE deport criminals?

The agency has limited resources, with the AP reporting that the number of migrants it supervises has increased, while its staffing dwindled. Citing a 2023 end-of-year report from ICE, the AP noted that the agency has to send staff to help at the border, taking them away from their normal duties.
RELATED: Mexico's increase in immigration enforcement results in drop in illegal border crossings into US
The number of migrants that ICE supervises but who aren't in its custody has risen from 3.3 million a little before Biden took office to a little over 7 million last year.
Moreover, ICE also has legal limits on who they can hold. The agency’s budget allows them to hold 41,500 people at a time. John Sandweg, who was acting ICE director from 2013 to 2014 under then-President Barack Obama, told the AP that holding people accused or convicted of the most serious crimes is always the top priority.
But once someone has a final order of removal — meaning a court has found that they don't have the right to stay in the country — they cannot be held in detention forever while ICE determines how to get them home.
The AP reported that a 2001 Supreme Court ruling prevented ICE from holding those individuals for over six months if there is no reasonable chance to expect they can be sent back.

"13,000 murderers" claim: Here's what ICE's numbers say about immigrants (yahoo.com)