According to The Daily Caller, more than 3,600 law enforcement agencies across the U.S. were handed detainers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the last fiscal year.
A total of 3,671 law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were sent detainers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials during fiscal year 2019, according to data the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University released Monday. The total is slightly down from the previous fiscal year, and a breakdown of the data reveals that a vast majority of these agencies receive fewer than two detainers requests a week.
ICE lodged a total of 165,487 detainers in fiscal year 2019, according to data the agency provided. The information TRAC released reveals that detainers were spread to a total of 3,671 law enforcement agencies across 2,158 counties — encompassing every state in the country.
“It is imperative to recognize the role local and state law enforcement plays in immigration enforcement. It is local law enforcement that is most likely to come in contact with criminal aliens in their own communities,” Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Without full cooperation from these officials, there is the risk of a dangerous criminal illegal alien being released back into a local community and then committing additional crimes,” he continued.s of ICE detainers in fiscal year 2019. However, because of a statewide ban that prohibits cooperation with federal immigration authorities, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has been forced to ignore these detainers and release thousands of illegal aliens since the law went into effect — 1,106 inmates in 2018 and another 1,015 in 2019.
“When local and state authorities fail to comply with ICE detainers, they are jeopardizing public safety and undermining federal law. If local or state authorities ignore an ICE detainer, they force ICE officials to make arrests in public,” Tragesser told the DCNF, adding:
“This is dangerous for the ICE officials, local community members, and the family and friends of the illegal alien.”
“While it is alarming to see jurisdictions continue to ignore ICE detainers, the Department of Homeland Security has acted aggressively to combat this trend,” he added. “In recent weeks, the agency has filed federal lawsuits, sent U.S. Border Patrol personnel to interior sanctuary cities, and suspended Trusted Travel Programs in a sanctuary state.”