ICE Director Discusses Immigration Enforcement
Todd Lyons, the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), recently revealed that around 1.6 million undocumented individuals in the U.S. have a final order of deportation. Notably, he mentioned that about half of these individuals have been convicted of crimes.
“Right now, we track approximately 1.6 million people,” Lyons stated during his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He specified that about 800,000 are under final deportation orders.
Lyons clarified that these deportation orders are not issued by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security, but rather by an immigration judge within the Department of Justice, which is separate from ICE.
“There are 16,840 final orders in the state of Minnesota,” Lyons added.
During the hearing, Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) commended immigration enforcement officials for their efforts, recalling a time when 10,000 people were entering the country illegally each day without any verification of their identities.
Lankford also referenced projections suggesting that 70,000 individuals with potential links to terrorism might enter the country in 2024, raising concerns about the lack of awareness regarding who these individuals are.
This comes amid rising scrutiny of ICE’s practices, particularly following incidents involving the deaths of two Minnesota activists, which have prompted some Democrats to threaten funding cuts to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless enforcement methods change.
“We seem to be losing perspective on what actually happened,” Lankford remarked, expressing gratitude for the effectiveness of ICE personnel in halting the perceived chaos.
Amid this, former President Trump criticized a Democratic governor’s initiative to track ICE activities, labeling it as a potential incitement to violence. “Everyday, numerous lawful arrests take place,” he noted. He expressed concern over protests that disrupt services, suggesting that behavior framing itself as peaceful while engaging in vandalism is likely to run out of steam.
