September 27, 2024
On March 13, 2024, Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) penned a letter to President Biden and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressing his concern over policies in sanctuary cities that shield noncitizens from federal law enforcement and requested information on illegal immigrants on ICEโs docket to better understand how many potential criminals were being released into our communities. On Thursday evening, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deputy Director Patrick Lechleiter responded to Congressman Gonzalesโ inquiry with data that confirms as of July 2024, 662,566 illegal immigrants on ICEโs docket have a criminal history.
โWeโve known for far too long that the Biden-Harris border crisis poses a direct threat to Americans. The truth is clearโillegal immigrants with a criminal record are coming into our country. The data released by ICE is beyond disturbing, and it should be a wake-up call for the Biden-Harris administration and cities across the country that hide behind sanctuary policies,โ said Congressman Tony Gonzales. โItโs time for Washington to move past rhetoric and toward results. Americans deserve to feel safe in their communities. As an Appropriator, I will do everything in my power to ensure ICE has the resources necessary to deport noncitizens with a criminal recordโthis must be a priority. The Biden-Harris administration also plays a part in cleaning up the mess their failed policies have created. They have the ear of sanctuary city mayorsโitโs time to encourage them to reverse course and put the safety of American citizens first.โ
View the data released by ICE on X or below as a PDF file:
As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICEโs national docketโ13,099 criminally convicted MURDERS!
— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) September 27, 2024
Americans deserve to be SAFE in our own communities. pic.twitter.com/fIoCAduJ9M