Free to Kill: 124 Criminal Aliens Released By Obama Policies Charged with Homicide Since 2010

The Center for Immigration Studies reports that only a tiny percentage of the released criminals have been removed. Only 3 percent of the criminal aliens released in 2014 have been removed, with most receiving the most generous forms of due process available, and are allowed to remain at large, without supervision, while they await drawn-out immigration hearings.

The vast majority (124) of these criminal aliens were released in California. In addition, 16 were released in Arizona, six in Texas, three in Florida, two in Georgia, and one each in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Washington, and Oregon.

“The Obama administration appears to be indifferent to the harm its policies are inflicting in American communities,” says CIS Director of Policy Studies Jessica Vaughan, who reviewed the ICE documents provided to the Senate committee.  “Many of these releases could be prevented.  Instead, the administration allows funded detention space to go unused, declines to use efficient forms of due process for criminals, and shifts millions of dollars that Congress provided for enforcement to other purposes.  In addition, they have failed to take action against recalcitrant countries that won’t accept the return of their deported citizens.” 


Inexplicably, ICE is choosing to release some criminal aliens multiple times. Two of them had homicide-related convictions even before they were released. These aliens had 464 criminal convictions prior to release by ICE, ranging from drug crimes to DUI and other driving offenses to larceny and theft.

This tally does not include aliens who were released by sanctuary jurisdictions, nor those aliens that were released by local law enforcement agencies after ICE declined to take them into custody due to Obama administration prioritization policies. This list includes only those aliens that ICE arrested and then released.

ICE reported that there are 156 criminal aliens who were released at least twice by ICE since 2013. Between them, these criminals had 1,776 convictions before their first release in 2013, with burglary, larceny, and drug possession listed most frequently.

Without the congressional inquiry into criminal alien crime, the public would not have this Immigration status information from ICE, which should be reported on a routine basis by all law enforcement agencies. Legislation has been introduced by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) that would remedy this problem.