The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement dropped 26 “detainer” requests and nearly released 3 people convicted of sex abuse.
- On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued a new directive on immigration enforcement.
- Biden asked that the ICE focus on threats to national security, public safety, and immigrants who entered the US illegally from November 1.
- The 3 men were not released following discussions between the state prison system and immigration authorities.
3 men convicted of sex offenses against children were nearly released.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dropped 26 “detainer” requests that require state and local law enforcement to hold a person who is potentially illegally in the US. This action was brought about by confusion over President Joe Biden’s changes. More specifically, Fox News reported that on his first day in office, Biden issued a new directive on immigration enforcement; that is, he ordered the ICE to focus on threats to national security, threats to public safety, and immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally from November 1. While most of the 26 people were convicted of drug or drunk-driving charges, three men were convicted of sex offenses against children. Taking this further, two men were convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager while a third was convicted of indecency with a child, Fox News further stated.
Jason Clark, chief of staff at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, commented.
According to the New York Post, Clark explained that under the administrations of both Obama and Trump, ICE would drop less than 26 detainer requests from the Texas prison system in a year. “Our concern is that you have individuals that have offenses in which we believe they would pose a public safety threat and so dropping the detainer, in turn, is threatening public safety and we expressed that to immigration officials,” Clark shared.
The three men were not released.
Following discussions between the state prison system and immigration authorities, the three men were not released. The reason for this is that under Biden’s policies, people convicted of sex offenses against minors still qualify for enforcement since those “who have been convicted of an aggravated felony” are a threat to public safety. In the section of immigration law, “aggravated felony” is defined as “murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor”.
