ThanksObama: Think Our Streets Are Safe? Think Again!

The Federalist Papers
March 24, 2015

We previously reported here about ICE releasing 36,000 illegal aliens with criminal convictions.  Now, more evidence has surfaced that this was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illegal criminal aliens on America’s streets.

Newsmax, CNS News, and Judicial Watch are all reporting that the number is actually much larger than that.

Judicial Watch on Monday released documents showing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released 165,900 illegal aliens, some of whom had been convicted of violent crimes.

According to weekly detention and departure reports from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, there were 167,527 non-detained convicted criminal aliens in the United States as of Jan. 26 of this year, a congressional hearing revealed Thursday.

Judicial Watch today released 76 pages of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents revealing that as of April 26, 2014, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had released 165,900 convicted criminal aliens throughout the United States, including many convicted of such violent crimes as homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. (Reports recently detailed that ICE released another 30,000 in the most recent fiscal year, which brings the grand total of known criminals released by the Obama administration to 195,900.)

The documents were released through a July 21, 2014, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:14-cv-01237)) filed by Judicial Watch after DHS failed to respond to a May 15 FOIA request seeking:

Any and all records of communications including, but not limited to, emails and memoranda, to or from personnel in the office of the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (including its component offices, such as the Office of Public Affairs), from May 1 to May 15, 2014, concerning, regarding, or related to the report published by the Center for Immigrations Studies concerning the release of 36,000 criminal aliens.

Another cover up by the Obama Administration as to its actions in relation to illegal immigration.  So committed is Obama to opening America’s borders to criminals from all over the world, that his administration has disregarded the law and Americans’ safety.  Newsmax explains further:

“It’s appalling that we’ve had to sue in federal court to get key information about the Obama administration’s release of 165,950 convicted criminal aliens,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a press release.

“These documents show the Obama administration is lying when it says that its ‘enforcement priorities’ include deporting illegal aliens who have committed heinous crimes,” Fitton said.

This matter was investigated recently at a U.S. House hearing dealing with ICE and its priorities according to CNS News:

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah.) read the statistic aloud Thursday during a hearing examining ICE’s priorities and procedures for removing criminal aliens currently living in the United States.

“In that report, it said that there are 167,527 non-detained, final-order convicted criminals on the loose in the United States,” Chaffetz pointed out while questioning ICE Director Sarah Saldana.

“These are people that are here illegally, get caught, convicted, and you release back out into the public,” he said, adding that some of the crimes committed by those who have been released include homicide, sex crimes, child pornography, drunk driving, robbery and kidnapping.

But, as Judicial Watch points out, this is just a small part of a great illegal immigration problem.

As has been previously reported, and is evidenced in these documents, the 36,007 criminal aliens freed by ICE in 2013 were just the tip of the iceberg. In a DHS “Overview of ICE” document marked “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY,” the following figures are reported through April 26, 2014 [NOTE: “Final Order” indicates the illegal aliens were ordered to leave the country, but have not done so and remain free]:

• Non-Detained Final Order Convicted CRIMINAL       165,950
• Non-Detained Final Order NON CRIMINAL               706,950
• Non-Detained Final Order TOTAL                              872,900

The documents also detail the difficulty caused by local policies that interfere with federal enforcement of immigration law and provide “sanctuary” for illegal alien criminals.

Chaffetz’s questioning of ICE director Saldana made it clear that the federal government has other priorities than keeping the American people safe from these illegal alien criminals as CNS News reveals:

During the hearing, Saldana said that ICE releases criminal aliens back into the community based on the agency’s “discretionary control.”

“Madam Director, if you’re a criminal, will you be deported?” Chaffetz asked Saldana.

“Those are the people we’re looking for, yes,” Saldana responded.

“But they’ve been in your detention. They’ve been detained. I mean they were convicted. They were…were they deported?” Chaffetz pressed.

“They were in the process of being deported,” Saldana claimed. “Everyone in our detention facilities is in the process of being deported, chairman.”

“Well that’s not true. I mean, you regularly release them back out into the public before they get deported, correct?” Chaffetz continued.

Of the roughly 36,000 criminal aliens released by ICE in 2013, about 22,000 were released under ICE’s “discretionary control,” she estimated.

“So you don’t automatically deport them, then?” Chaffetz asked.

“Automatically, sir? No,” Saldana responded, adding that “the law gives us that discretion.”

“And so when we say, if you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported, that’s not necessarily true,” Chaffetz said.

“It is true, sir. It’s in–”

“After they get released back into the public for untold number of times?” Chaffetz asked.

“It does happen. It does happen, yes, and that’s exactly what we’re here to do,” Saldana admitted.

“What does happen? That they get released?” Chaffetz asked.

“Yes,” Saldana said, “Even criminals that are released.

There we have it – ICE is intentionally releasing illegal alien criminals back into American society.