Democrat Tim Ryan Pledged to Free at Least 42K Illegal Aliens into American Communities

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) once pledged to free at least 42,000 illegal aliens, including thousands convicted of crimes, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Breitbart News has learned.

Ryan, running against Republican J.D. Vance for Ohio’s open United States Senate seat, made the pledge to the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) while running for president in the Democrat primary in 2019.

Specifically, Ryan pledged to free from ICE detention “at least 75 percent” of detainees, which would have amounted to about 42,000 illegal aliens being released directly into American communities at the time.

Thousands of those illegal aliens, and potentially tens of thousands, would have been convicted criminals and thousands of others would have been released from ICE custody despite having pending criminal charges against them.

Ryan checked the “Yes” box when asked to make the ACLU commitment:

This week, during a Fox News town hall, Ryan claimed that he “never called for defunding ICE” though the ACLU pledge to cut detention by at least 75 percent — including cutting its budget and eliminating bail in immigration detention — would render much of the agency powerless when trying to enforce federal immigration law.

In the same ACLU survey from 2019, Ryan vowed to free about a million inmates from jails and prisons across the U.S. in four years. Ryan also later said he would free “all nonviolent criminals” from jails and prisons, which would include fentanyl dealers, other drug traffickers, and some child sex offenders.

Ryan, most recently, said he had not yet decided whether he would be supporting an Ohio ballot initiative that seeks to put a ban on illegal alien voting in the state’s constitution. Meanwhile, Vance said he is supporting the initiative to clarify that voting rights are awarded only to American citizens.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.