Former President Donald Trump has said that the Biden-Harris administration released 13,000 migrants convicted of homicide who were on federal records but not in custody.
Newly released statistics regarding migrants with criminal convictions are being deployed by Republicans as attack lines against Vice President Kamala Harris‘ border policies in the run-up to November’s election as immigration remains a key issue in voters’ minds.
The Biden-Harris administration has come under fire from Republicans over allegations 13,000 non-citizens convicted of homicide are “roaming” the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security has denied the claims.
The Claim
The claim is that these statistics refer specifically to criminal offenders who entered the U.S. during the Biden-Harris administration.
“Kamala should immediately cancel her News Conference because it was just revealed that 13,000 convicted murderers entered our Country during her three and a half year period as Border Czar,” Trump wrote in one post on Friday, the day Harris visited the southern border in Arizona.
Harris “allowed almost 14,000 MURDERERS to freely and openly roam our Country,” Trump wrote in another Friday post.
They “roam free to KILL AGAIN,” he wrote on Saturday.
Trump repeated the claims at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the weekend.
“When you look at the crime, look at the crime, look at the people that are coming in. Murderers, 13,099 murderers, let in over the last short period of time,” he said.
The figures Trump is referring to come from a letter sent to Representative Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) by ICE that he shared on X, formerly Twitter.
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 own communities. pic.twitter.com/fIoCAduJ9M
— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) September 27, 2024
This letter from ICE outlines the noncitizens on the agency’s docket who have been convicted of or charged with crimes.
According to ICE, there are currently 13,099 “non-detained” noncitizens on the docket who have been convicted of homicide.
Some GOP figures, including Trump, have also interpreted “non-detained” to imply that these individuals are “roaming free.”
The Facts
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump has said that the Biden-Harris administration oversaw the release of 13,000 migrants convicted of homicide who were on federal government records but not in custody.
AP
The data released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does indicate that approximately 13,000 non-citizens convicted of homicide are recorded in its system and are not currently in custody.
However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, clarified that these figures span several years and include migrants who entered the U.S. during the Trump administration and previous ones.
This data goes back 40 years; it doesn’t specify that those 13,099 people entered the U.S. during the Biden-Harris administration.
Furthermore, it noted that individuals on this list may not be in ICE custody but could be detained or incarcerated under the jurisdiction of other agencies.
The claim made by Trump that the Biden-Harris administration allowed 13,099 convicted murderers into the United States during her term is therefore false, and misleading on multiple grounds.
As vice president, Harris does not have the power or authority to let anyone into the country, including convicted criminals.
Immigration policy, border security, and the management of who enters the U.S. are primarily handled by agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), not by the vice president.
“The data in this letter is being misinterpreted,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement released on September 29.
“The data goes back decades; it includes individuals who entered the country over the past 40 years or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this administration. It also includes many who are under the jurisdiction of or currently incarcerated by federal, state, or local law enforcement partners.”
The figures show that as of July 2024, there were 425,431 non-citizens with criminal convictions listed in ICE’s “non-detained docket,” which is a database of individuals facing deportation proceedings but not currently in ICE custody.
Furthermore, according to the letter, 13,099 were convicted of homicide, 15,811 were convicted of sexual assault, and 62,231 were convicted of assault.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security, the Harris campaign, and the Trump campaign for comment outside of normal office hours.
The Ruling
False.
While it is correct that 13,099 noncitizens on the ICE docket have been convicted of homicide, this data spans 40 years, and does not cover only the Biden-Harris administration, as Trump said. Nor can it be interpreted as having happened only “in the last short period of time.” Furthermore, the figures include individuals who are in jails and prisons serving criminal sentences.
FACT CHECK BY Billal Rahman
