(TNND) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement released its annual report Thursday, highlighting the fact that ICE deported more undocumented immigrants than in any year since fiscal year 2015.
ICE deported 271,484 immigrants, including nearly 89,000 with criminal records. That includes immigrants who have been charged or convicted of murder, sexual assault, robbery and other serious crimes.
ICE said it prioritizes arrests of noncitizens who have been convicted or are facing charges.
More than 70% of people arrested by ICE were convicted or suspected criminals, up from about 40% of arrests the previous year.
Of the 271,484 immigrants expelled from the United States, 237 were known or suspected terrorists.
“These numbers are encouraging, but the Biden-Harris administration is trying to take credit for putting out fires they started nearly four years ago,” said Kieran Donahue, sheriff of Canyon County, Idaho. It’s hard to reconcile the facts,” said Sheriff Kieran Donahue of Canyon County, Idaho. The National Sheriff’s Association said in a statement provided to the National News Desk.
Immigration has been a key issue in this year’s election, with President-elect Donald Trump accusing President Joe Biden of being lax on border security.
Trump campaigned on immigration, pledging mass deportations.
President Trump confirmed his plan to deport all illegal immigrants en masse in a recent “Meet the Press” interview.
“I think we have to,” Trump said in response to a question from NBC News’ Kristen Welker about whether he intended to deport all illegal immigrants over the next four years.
“No. 1, we’re doing crimes, and we’re going to do them very quickly,” President Trump said.
From 2021 to 2024, there were 10.8 million encounters with illegal immigrants nationwide, up from about 3 million in the previous four years.
Donahue and his fellow sheriffs are sounding the alarm on the estimated 2 million “fugitives” currently elsewhere in the United States who have evaded Customs and Border Protection.
Illegal border crossings have fallen from record levels.
A year ago, the country recorded about 302,000 southwestern border crossings a month. Since then, no month has had more than 200,000 people passing through. And since the summer, the monthly total has remained below 110,000.
The number of encounters at the southwest border fell below 100,000, according to the November update released by CBP on Thursday.
Ernesto Sagas, an expert on politics and U.S. immigration policy who teaches at Colorado State University, said the ICE report that touted enforcement efforts “does too little for the Biden administration to claim it’s tough on criminal immigrants. It was too late.”
Sagas said the Democratic administration is deporting people.
He noted that former President Barack Obama was even referred to as the “Department Director.”
“Democrats have a really big problem maintaining a consistent voice on immigration,” Sagas said.
Democrats are pitching a “big tent” and trying to draw a line between a hard line and a soft stance on immigration.
Biden wanted to welcome immigrant families and asylum seekers while being tough on the criminal elements that are part of the immigration picture.
But Sagas said Biden can’t have it both ways.
He said Trump was effective in campaigning entirely on tough-on-immigration policies that appealed to voters.
Mr. Donahue said he commends ICE for its enforcement and removal efforts and for making it a top priority to remove bad actors who have entered our country illegally.
“I have a hard time patting someone on the back or congratulating them for simply taking long overdue steps to solve a problem that they themselves caused,” Donahue said. .
The sheriff said he expects the incoming administration to “take every step possible to remove those who pose a threat to our country.”
