Immigration and Customs Enforcement has edited a statement defending the release of more than 36,000 criminal immigrants last year, adding language saying the detained aliens had already served time for their crimes and slightly changing an apparently incorrect statistic.
The statement now begins by saying the detained aliens had “already satisfied the terms of their criminal sentence” when they were released. It also now says a Supreme Court ruling forced the agency to release 72 percent of the aliens who are convicted murderers, not 75 as the agency initially maintained.
According to an ICE spokeswoman the agency updated its statement — initially provided Monday evening — Wednesday afternoon.
ICE’s statements were made in reaction to a Center for Immigration Studies report about a leaked ICE document revealing that last year the agency released 36,007 criminal aliens convicted of nearly 88,000 crimes, including murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault.
Breitbart News learned of the updated statement when it reached out to ICE for a response to Louisiana Republican Rep. John Fleming’s call for ICE to recapture the dangerous criminals it released.
An ICE spokeswoman told Breitbart the agency had nothing to add other than the updated statement, highlighting the first sentence asserting the criminal aliens in ICE custody have served their criminal sentences.
The spokeswoman confirmed that the statement was updated Wednesday afternoon.
Since the Monday revelations about the thousands of releases, lawmakers have expressed dismay and outrage.
“Your Department’s actions have jeopardized the safety of Americans and raise serious concerns about its commitment to full enforcement of our immigration laws,” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn wrote Wednesday in a letter to DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson.
The House Judiciary Committee is planning to bring Johnson before the committee to testify on the matter this month.
Compare:
Wednesday ICE statement:
Convicted criminals come into the agency’s custody to undergo removal proceedings after they have already satisfied the terms of their criminal sentence. In many of the releases in 2013, ICE was required by law to release the individuals from custody, pursuant to decisions by the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Once in ICE custody, many of the individuals described in the report were released under restrictions such as GPS monitoring, telephone monitoring, supervision, or bond.
The releases required by court decisions account for a disproportionate number of the serious crimes listed in the report. For example, mandatory releases account for over 72% of the homicides listed.
Others, typically those with less serious offenses, were released as a discretionary matter after career law enforcement officers made a judgment regarding the priority of holding the individual, given ICE’s resources, and prioritizing the detention and removal of individuals who pose a risk to public safety or national security.
Monday ICE statement:
Many of the individuals described in the report were released under restrictions such as GPS monitoring, telephone monitoring, supervision, or surety bond.
In some of the releases in 2013, ICE was required by law to release the individuals from custody, pursuant to decisions by the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
The releases required by court decisions account for a disproportionate number of the serious crimes listed in the report. For example, mandatory releases account for over 75% of the homicides listed.
Others, typically those with less serious offenses, were released as a discretionary matter after career law enforcement officers made a judgment regarding the priority of holding the individual, given ICE’s resources, and prioritizing the detention and removal of individuals who pose a risk to public safety or national security.
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