Although sanctuary city defenders say the policy itself does not threaten public safety, the latest Immigration and Customs Enforcement report argues otherwise.
ICE released its weekly declined detainer report on Friday, which reveals the counties and city law enforcement agencies that are releasing illegal immigrants back on the streets even when they have notable criminal activity.
A declined detainer request occurs when jurisdictions choose to willfully decline ICE detainers or requests for notification and release criminals back into the community. "When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release a criminal alien onto the streets, they have declined an ICE detainer," says the website for ICE.
According to the latest report, throughout the week of Feb. 4-10, ICE found 47 declined detainer requests from around 30 different jurisdictions across the country, and many of the release requests were for criminals with records such as aggravated assault, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
New York City had the highest number of jurisdictions on the list releasing illegal criminals, reporting 12 different instances of offenders being allowed to roam free in the streets as opposed to being detained. The notable criminal activity of the illegal immigrants they declined to detain included violent and major crimes like assault and sexual assault.
Virginia had half the number of declined requests for detainees with notable criminal activities, with six declined detainer requests documented in the state. The state of Washington released five illegal immigrants during the week covered by the report. Both Virginia and Washington released illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes like driving while intoxicated and assault. One detainee released in Washington had been convicted of cocaine possession.
As originally reported by The Daily Caller, during the week of Feb. 4-10, there were 10 jurisdictions that, ICE said, "do not comply on a regular basis" who received a total of 540 detainer requests. The non-complying jurisdictions were listed as:
"Currently, uncooperative jurisdictions prevent ICE from knowing when an alien has been released from custody," the report noted. "Consequently, active detainers exist for aliens who are no longer incarcerated. The field offices are in the process of reviewing outstanding active ICE detainers, potentially affecting the list of jurisdictions listed in future reporting periods."
During the week of Feb. 4-10, ICE issued a total of 2,285 detainer requests nationwide.
