United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement led an effort across the final two weeks in January that resulted in the arrests of 171 illegal immigrants who had previous criminal charges and convictions.
ICE Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Patrick J. Lechleitner reported that 103 of the now apprehended migrants faced charges or convictions of a sexual nature against children. Ten others had homicide charges or convictions against them. All were apprehended nationwide in roughly 25 large metropolitan areas that include Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Tacoma, and Denver.
“But these communities are now safer thanks to our officers’ tireless efforts,” Lechleitner said during a Thursday press conference. “They’ve worked around the clock tracking down targets and planning safe efficient and effective arrests.”
Next, these migrants will go before an immigration court which will determine how and when they will be deported to their home countries. However, the timeline will vary for each person.
Already, ICE is apprehending 5,000 more individuals than its budget allows, according to Lechleitner. He shared his hope that his partners in the Biden administration and Congress will pass a bill for more funding so the department can stop operation under a continuing resolution, or stopgap bill.
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“We’re currently under a CR through the beginning of March and we’re gonna have to make some tough decisions going forward if we don’t get more supplemental funding because we have to live within our means like everything else in the government and in reality,” Lechleitner said.
Last year, Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 73,822 migrants with a combined total of 290,178 charges and convictions.
