ILLEGAL ALIEN ARRESTS UP NEARLY 40% UNDER TRUMP
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Statistics released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on
May 17 indicated that during the 100 days since President Trump signed
multiple executive orders regarding immigration enforcement priorities,
ICE agents have arrested more than 41,000 individuals who are either
known or suspected of being in the country illegally. This represents an
increase of 37.6 percent over the same period in 2016.
A report about these findings posted on the ICE website quoted a statement from ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan, who said:
Trump’s commitment to enforce our immigration laws fairly and across the
board. ICE agents and officers have been given clear direction to focus
on threats to public safety and national security, which has resulted
in a substantial increase in the arrest of convicted criminal aliens.
However, when we encounter others who are in the country unlawfully, we
will execute our sworn duty and enforce the law. As the data
demonstrates, ICE continues to execute our mission professionally and in
accordance with the law, and our communities will be much safer for it.
The ICE statement noted that nearly 75 percent of those arrested
during this period in 2017 are convicted criminals, with offenses
ranging from homicide and assault to sexual abuse and drug-related
charges.
The arrest of aliens at-large in the community increased by more than
50 percent, from 8,381 last year to 12,766 arrests this year during the
same period.
Furthermore, the arrest of convicted criminal aliens climbed nearly 20 percent, from 25,786 last year to 30,473 this year.
ICE noted that violent crimes such as homicide, rape, kidnapping, and
assault accounted for more than 2,700 convictions of illegal aliens.
We reported last January
that during a ceremony at the Department of Homeland Security on
January 25 honoring DHS’s newly confirmed secretary, retired Gen. John
Kelly, President Trump signed an executive order to begin construction
of a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and to improve immigration
enforcement. This increased enforcement includes ending the “catch and
release” policy practiced by the Obama administration. Under “catch and
release,” illegal border crossers were issued a “notice to appear” and
released, instead of being detained and processed for deportation.
Although arrests of illegal aliens rose, the number of deportations fell 12 percent during the period, Homan said.
The acting ICE director attributed the drop to a decline in arrests
on the U.S.-Mexico border, where deportations of illegal border crossers
are usually processed quickly, as well as a lengthy backlog in U.S.
immigration courts that issue deportation orders.
Although the Trump administration has prioritized the apprehension
and deportation of illegal aliens with criminal records, in the course
of their enforcement activities, ICE agents as a matter of course arrest
illegals whose only crime is entering the country illegally. Since
illegal entry is a violation of our laws, these people are being
processed for deportation in greater numbers than they were under the
Obama administration, which often failed to enforce immigration law
violations.
Consequently, in addition to the increase in the arrests of illegal
aliens convicted of crimes besides illegal entry, there was also a rise
in “non-criminal” arrests during the Trump administration. They have
increased from approximately 4,200 in 2016 to more than 10,800 in 2017
“As Secretary Kelly has made clear, ICE will no longer exempt classes
or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of
those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration
arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from
the United States,” NBC News quoted Matthew Bourke, a spokesman for
ICE.
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