Over 13,000 Murder Convict Immigrants Roaming Free In US: Report

More than 13,000 immigrants, convicted of homicide either in the United States or abroad, are roaming free in America, stated a report of the country’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

These individuals are part of the agency’s “non-detained” docket. It means these persons are known to ICE but are not currently prioritised for detention or cannot be located.

The revelation was made in response to a request from Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas in March, with the statistics collected as of July 21.

Sharing the information on X (formerly Twitter), Gonzales wrote, “As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket—13,099 criminally convicted MURDERS! Americans deserve to be SAFE in our communities.”

On Friday, during a campaign event in Michigan, the Republican candidate Donald Trump used the figures to slam the Joe Biden administration’s immigration policies targeting Vice President Kamala Harris.

The White House has not yet responded to the numbers.

The law enforcement officials told NBC News that ICE prioritises arresting migrants convicted of serious crimes, such as homicide but they also highlighted that the agency’s limited resources pose challenges in tracking down and arresting all those on the list. ICE currently has over 7.5 million immigrants on its “non-detained” docket, meaning they have pending immigration cases but are not in custody.