A Congressional Research Service (CRS) 2012 report revealed that illegal aliens who had been released from U.S. custody onto U.S. soil between 2008 and 2011 were subsequently charged with more than 16,000 crimes, including murders, according to the New York Times. The data is likely to cause concern regarding the recent revelation that 36,000 convicted criminal illegal immigrants, including almost 200 murderers, were released back into the U.S. by immigration officials in 2013.
The 2012 CRS report looked at 159,286 immigrants, including 7,283 illegal immigrants, who were in the U.S. illegally “at the time of the first arrest. They were arrested again on a total of 16,226 charges,” the New York Times reported. 1,800 of the charges were reportedly for serious and violent offenses.
The offenses include 19 murders and 142 sex crimes, 682 burglaries, 48 firearm crimes, and a slew of alcohol and drugs-related crimes.
Although officials could have deported the illegal immigrants, they did not do so.
Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby extensively reported on one such illegal immigrant, Marcos Rodriguez-Perez, who committed the 2009 murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, Jr. At the time of the killing, Rodriguez-Perez was in the U.S. on “supervised release” for human smuggling and illegally entering the United States. Darby reported that Rodriguez-Perez will ultimately spend 56 years behind bars; but it is easy to surmise that Agent Rosas’ death may have been prevented if Rodriguez-Perez was not freed by U.S. authorities following his prior crime.
Texas Congressman Lamar Smith ordered the CRS report in 2012. He said in a statement, “President Obama’s reckless amnesty agenda is dangerous and deadly for Americans. Rather than protect the American people he was elected to serve, President Obama has imposed a policy that allows thousands of illegal immigrants to be released into our communities. They have committed thousands more crimes, including 19 murders, three attempted murders, and 142 sex crimes, all of which could have been avoided.”
The 2012 statistics cast an ominous shadow on the recent news that 36,000 convicted criminal illegal immigrants were released onto U.S. streets in 2013. Breitbart Texas reported earlier this week that these illegal immigrants were collectively convicted of 88,000 crimes. The convictions include 426 sexual assaults, 303 kidnappings, 193 homicides, 1,317 domestic violence assaults, and 1,724 weapon offenses.
In a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas, Congressman Smith said of convicted immigrants released in 2013, “This would be considered the worst prison break in American history, except it was sanctioned by the President and perpetrated by our own immigration officials. These criminal immigrants should have been deported to ensure that they could never commit crimes on U.S. soil. But instead, ICE officials chose not to detain them and instead released them back onto American streets. The Administration’s actions are outrageous. They willfully and knowingly put the interests of criminal immigrants before the safety and security of the American people.”
In the face of this recent report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been ordered to stay silent on the matter.
Each ICE representative that Breitbart Texas came in contact with was familiar with the CIS report, but would not comment on it. They additionally refused to answer general questions regarding detention and release policies.
“We were given specific instructions not to comment on that report,” said Greg Palmore, a Texas-based ICE spokesman, during a phone interview with Breitbart Texas.
Rather than comment, they all provided the same press release that was apparently drawn up by a press secretary in Washington, D.C.
The statement said, “Many of the individuals described in the report were released under restrictions such as GPS monitoring, telephone monitoring, supervision, or surety bond. … [Some] were released as a discretionary matter after career law enforcement officers made a judgment regarding the priority of holding the individual, given ICE’s resources, and prioritizing the detention and removal of individuals who pose a risk to public safety or national security.”
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.
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