The ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, called on the Department of Homeland Security to provide more information about the release of convicted criminal immigrants, specifically the 116 immigrants convicted of homicide.
Last month Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that last year it released 36,007 immigrants convicted of nearly 88,000 crimes.
These criminal immigrant releases included 116 immigrants with 193 homicide convictions.
According to ICE, 72 percent of those homicide releases were mandatory due to court decisions.
“So, by its own admission, ICE voluntarily released convicted criminal aliens who accounted for the remaining 28% even though it had the discretion to detain them and keep them off the streets,” Grassley wrote in a letter to DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson Monday (emphasis Grassley’s). “Such a serious breach of public safety requires accountability and answers for the American people.”
The Iowa Republican went on to request more information about the cases, specifically the names of the judges who ordered the mandatory releases, reasons for discretionary release, as well as details about the status and location of the homicide convicts released.
Grassley said he would like answers no later than June 27.
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