According to NBC News, P.J. Reckleitner, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said in an interview that some cities regret releasing criminal immigrants in their custody and are calling for changes to “sanctuary” policies.
In recent years, many left-leaning cities and counties have shied away from working with ICE, sometimes leading to the release of undocumented immigrants accused of violent crimes, NBC News reported. reportBut Recheitner said some blue cities are considering changing course.
According to NBC News, Democratic-led cities are not cooperating because authorities worry that reporting to ICE could hinder criminal investigations. Progressive leaders argue that immigrants will be reluctant to report crimes to police for fear of being deported.
“For years, some states and jurisdictions have been very reluctant to do business with us because of civil immigration issues,” Reckleitner told NBC News.
Rechleitner said ICE has long promoted greater cooperation with Democratic-leaning cities. (Related article: ICE says ‘sanctuary’ counties release illegal immigrants convicted of child sex crimes)
Asylum-seeking migrants walk to be transported to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center on November 30, 2023. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
“Unfortunately, you’ve seen some instances where some individuals have encountered local law enforcement and were not allowed to notify immigration authorities because of policies that are in place at the state or local level, and all of a sudden, those released people reoffend,” Reckleitner told NBC News.
“We don’t want that. We want to make sure that any threats to public safety are appropriately mitigated,” Reckleitner told NBC News.
On Wednesday, local news outlets discovered through an investigation that judges in “sanctuary” jurisdictions in Maryland were handing out lenient sentences to illegal immigrants charged with sex crimes, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported this week. Some of the illegal immigrants investigated had been repeatedly deported and charged with sex crimes.
A congresswoman who supports sanctuary cities submitted a letter to ICE on Wednesday alleging that deportation officers fail to notify state and local authorities before arresting people, DCNF reported this week. The congresswoman cited problems with ICE raids in her district.
Reckleitner told NBC News that ICE can arrest immigrants who are released, but they can be difficult to track and could pose a danger to the public if they are arrested in the community.
Jurisdictions that have refused to inform ICE when they release illegal immigrants from prison are now considering ways they can work with ICE in the future, such as providing advance notice before releasing immigrants who have committed crimes, NBC News reported.
As an independent, nonpartisan news service, all content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
