Trump points to new numbers on migrants with criminal pasts. Here's what they show

WASHINGTON — 

Republicans are pointing to recently released migration enforcement information to bolster their statement that the Biden medication is letting migrants who person committed superior crimes spell escaped successful the U.S. But the numbers person been misconstrued without cardinal context.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released information to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales successful effect to a petition helium made for accusation astir radical nether ICE supervision either convicted of crimes oregon facing transgression charges. Gonzales' Texas territory includes an 800-mile agelong bordering Mexico.

Gonzales posted the numbers online and they instantly became a flashpoint successful the statesmanlike run betwixt erstwhile President Donald Trump, who has vowed to transportation retired wide deportations, and Vice President Kamala Harris. Immigration — and the Biden administration's grounds connected borderline information — has go a cardinal contented successful the election.

Here's a look astatine the information and what it does oregon doesn't show:

What are the numbers? As of July 21, ICE said 662,556 radical nether its supervision were either convicted of crimes oregon look transgression charges. Nearly 15,000 were successful its custody, but the immense bulk — 647,572 — were not.

Included successful the figures of radical not detained by ICE were radical recovered blameworthy of precise superior crimes: 13,099 for homicide, 15,811 for intersexual assault, 13,423 for weapons offenses and 2,663 for stolen vehicles. The azygous biggest class was for traffic-related offenses astatine 77,074, followed by battle astatine 62,231 and unsafe drugs astatine 56,533.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, aboriginal clarified that the numbers span decades — including the Trump medication and different presidencies — and that those not successful its custody whitethorn beryllium detained by a authorities oregon section agency. It's a favoritism ICE didn't marque successful its study to Gonzales.

"When we talk of idiosyncratic who is not detained, we mean not detained successful ICE custody. The idiosyncratic could beryllium successful Folsom State Prison, for example," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday.

Millions of radical are connected ICE's "non-detained docket," oregon radical nether the agency's supervision who aren't successful its custody. Many are awaiting outcomes of their cases successful migration court, including immoderate wearing monitoring devices. Others person been released aft completing their situation sentences due to the fact that their countries won't instrumentality them back.

What bash some sides accidental astir the numbers? Republicans pointed to the information arsenic impervious that the Biden medication is letting immigrants with transgression records into the state and isn't doing capable to footwear retired those who perpetrate crimes portion they're here.

"The information is wide — amerciable immigrants with a transgression grounds are coming into our country. The information released by ICE is beyond disturbing, and it should beryllium a wake-up telephone for the Biden-Harris medication and cities crossed the state that fell down sanctuary policies," Gonzales said successful a quality release, referring to pledges by section officials to bounds their practice with national migration authorities.

Trump, who has repeatedly portrayed immigrants arsenic bringing lawlessness and transgression to America, tweeted aggregate screenshots of the information with the words: "13,000 CROSSED THE BORDER WITH MURDER CONVICTIONS."

He besides asserted that the numbers correspond to Biden and Harris' clip successful office.

The information was being misinterpreted, Homeland Security said successful a connection Sunday.

"The information goes backmost decades; it includes individuals who entered the state implicit the past 40 years oregon more, the immense bulk of whose custody determination was made agelong earlier this Administration," the bureau said. "It besides includes galore who are nether the jurisdiction oregon presently incarcerated by federal, authorities oregon section instrumentality enforcement partners."

Mayorkas said it was "unfortunate" the accusation didn't travel with due explanation, saying that "lends itself to misinterpretation, either deliberate oregon otherwise."

The section besides stressed what it has done to deport those without the close to enactment successful America, saying it had removed oregon returned much than 700,000 radical successful the past year, which it said was the highest fig since 2010. Homeland Security said it had removed 180,000 radical with transgression convictions since President Joe Biden took office.

What's down the figures? The information isn't lone listing radical who entered the state during the Biden medication but includes radical going backmost decades who came during erstwhile administrations, said Doris Meissner, erstwhile commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was the predecessor to ICE.

They're accused oregon convicted of committing crimes successful America arsenic opposed to committing crimes successful different countries and past entering the U.S., said Meissner, who is present manager of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program astatine the Migration Policy Institute.

"This is not thing that is simply a relation of what the Biden medication did," she said. "Certainly, this includes the Biden years, but this is an accumulation of galore years, and surely going backmost to astatine slightest 2010, 2011, 2012."

A 2017 study by Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General says that arsenic of August 2016, ICE had astir 368,574 radical connected its non-detained docket who were convicted criminals. By June 2021, soon aft Trump near office, that fig was up to 405,786.

Can't ICE conscionable deport criminals? ICE has constricted resources. The fig of radical it supervises has skyrocketed, portion its staffing has not. As the bureau noted successful a 2023 end-of-year report, it often has to nonstop unit to assistance astatine the border, taking them distant from their mean duties.

The fig of radical ICE supervises but who aren't successful its custody has grown from 3.3 cardinal a small earlier Biden took bureau to a small implicit 7 cardinal past spring.

"The elemental reply is that arsenic a system, we haven't devoted capable resources to the parts of the authorities that woody with monitoring and yet removing radical who are deportable," Meissner said.

ICE besides has logistical and ineligible limits connected who they tin hold. Its fund allows the bureau to clasp 41,500 radical astatine a time. John Sandweg, who was acting ICE manager from 2013 to 2014 nether then-President Barack Obama, said holding radical accused oregon convicted of the astir superior crimes is ever the apical priority.

But erstwhile idiosyncratic has a last bid of removal — meaning a tribunal has recovered that they don't person the close to enactment successful the state — they cannot beryllium held successful detention everlastingly portion ICE works retired however to get them home. A 2001 Supreme Court ruling fundamentally prevented ICE from holding those radical for much than six months if determination is nary tenable accidental to expect they tin beryllium sent back.

Not each state is consenting to instrumentality backmost their citizens, Sandweg said.

He said helium suspects that a ample fig of those convicted of homicide but not held by ICE are radical who were ordered deported but the bureau can't region them due to the fact that their location state won't instrumentality them back.

"It's a precise communal scenario. Even amongst the countries that instrumentality radical back, they tin beryllium precise selective astir who they instrumentality back," helium said.

The U.S. besides could tally into problems deporting radical to countries with which it has tepid relations.

Homeland Security did not respond to questions astir however galore countries won't instrumentality backmost their citizens. The 2017 watchdog study enactment the fig astatine 23 countries, positive an further 62 that were cooperative but wherever determination were delays getting things similar passports oregon question documents.