1,768 'criminal illegal aliens' released by Illinois this year, Trump admin says

President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed on Monday that Illinois has failed to honor ICE detainers and has released 1,768 criminal illegal immigrants since January. The Trump administration warned that Illinois is “putting American lives at risk.”

In a Monday press release, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, urging the Democrat official to prioritize the safety of Americans and honor over 4,000 ICE arrest detainers for “criminal illegal aliens” currently in the state’s custody. The department noted that the illegal immigrants include “murderers, sexual predators, and those convicted of or charged with weapons offenses.”

“Illinois’ failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in the release of 1,768 criminal illegal aliens since January 20,” the Department of Homeland Security stated. “The crimes of these aliens include 5 homicides, 141 assaults, 23 burglaries, 4 robberies, 24 dangerous drugs offenses, 15 weapons offenses, and 10 sexual predatory offenses.”

In addition to the 1,768 criminal illegal immigrants released by Illinois, the Department of Homeland Security said there are “currently 4,015 aliens in the custody of an Illinois jurisdiction” that have an active detainer.

“The crimes of these aliens include 51 homicides, 1,134 assaults, 107 burglaries, 36 robberies, 275 dangerous drugs offenses, 120 weapons offenses, and 813 sexual predatory offenses,” the Department of Homeland Security stated.

According to Fox News, the letter Lyons sent to the attorney general of Illinois, which was obtained by the outlet, claimed that Illinois has “tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens” in custody, including illegal immigrants who are responsible for armed robberies, murders, rapes, and child pornography cases. 

In the letter, Lyons explained that the criminal illegal immigrants “should be swiftly removed from the United States … and not be returned to our streets to wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens.”

In Monday’s press release, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin claimed that Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) and his “fellow Illinois sanctuary politicians” are “releasing murderers, pedophiles, and kidnappers,” into American neighborhoods and are “putting American lives at risk.”

“We are calling on Governor Pritzker and his administration to stop this dangerous derangement and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in Illinois’ custody,” McLaughlin said. “It is common sense. Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.”