House Democrats are lobbying President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop re-detaining criminal illegal aliens who were previously released from their custody.
The Democrats — led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) — wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging him not to re-detain criminal illegal aliens who have been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
“Specifically, we urge you to refrain from re-detaining individuals previously released due to COVID-19 solely due to the improving pandemic conditions and to continue robust safety measures in ICE detention centers…” the Democrats wrote.
Criminal illegal aliens who were released from ICE custody as a result of the Chinese coronavirus crisis, the Democrats claim, pose “no danger to the community” and thus should not be re-detained:
These formerly detained people, however, continue to live with the constant fear of redetention by ICE. ICE’s position regarding the re-detention of people released due to COVID-19 has been inconsistent across individual Field Offices, causing great uncertainty for formerly detained people. [Emphasis added]
…
We respectfully request that DHS and ICE take prompt action to ensure that there is a clear policy regarding individuals who have been released from detention due to COVID-19, and that no one is re-detained solely as a result of our nation’s recovery from the pandemic. In addition, we request that DHS and ICE ensure that health and safety measures, releases from custody, and vaccination protocols are reviewed, improved, and enacted at detention facilities to ensure robust protections for those that remain detained. [Emphasis added]
Read the full letter here:
Dems Letter to Mayorkas by John Binder
While expressing concern for illegal aliens in ICE custody who may contract the coronavirus, the same group of House Democrats previously asked the Biden administration to release border crossers into the U.S. interior, regardless of whether they had coronavirus.
“At a time when travel is restricted worldwide, and we are observing the emergence of multiple alarming COVID-19 variants, continued expulsions and deportations threaten to export the virus to already vulnerable nations,” the Democrats wrote in February.
By May, the Biden administration had successfully forced down the number of criminal illegal aliens in ICE custody thanks to his “sanctuary country” orders that prevent agents from arresting and deporting illegal aliens until they are convicted of an aggravated felony or are terrorists or known gang members.
The data showed that as of May 3, just a little more than 5,200 criminal illegal aliens were in ICE custody. Compare that total to the number of criminal illegal aliens ICE had detained in May 2019, when more than 23,200 were in custody.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.