During that period, from Jan, 28 through Feb. 3, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it became aware of some 206 illegal immigrants whom sanctuaries refused to turn over. ICE said it expects that number to grow as it learns of more names.
Los Angeles refused to turn over a convicted arsonist from Mexico, while Philadelphia balked at cooperating on a Jamaican man accused of murder.
The numbers in the new report already show a major change from the Obama administration, which required illegal immigrants to have major convictions on their records to be a target for deportation. Instead, under Mr. Trump those charged with crimes — but not yet convicted for them — are being targeted, and the bar for criminal behavior earning deportation is lower.
Of the 206 people known to have been shielded by sanctuaries, just 87 were convicted of their key charges at this point. The rest were at the level of charges.
“There’s a clear public safety issue here,” said one Homeland Security official, briefing reporters on the numbers ahead of their release.
Domestic violence, drunken driving, drug offenses and sexual or aggravated assaults dominated the list. There were some striking cases as well, including the Riverside Regional Jail in Hopewell City, Virginia, which released a convicted rapist, and three men — two in Texas and one in Oregon — convicted of indecent exposure.
In Maryland, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County each released men from El Salvador charged with assault. Both counties are on ICE’s sanctuary city list.
Not only are these sanctuary cities endangering their own citizens, they also endanger the rest of us if these criminals decide to move elsewhere and their criminal past is not known until they break another law, which probably will happen.
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