U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, demanding that he honor the ICE arrest detainers of the thousands of illegal immigrants in the state.
Failure to honor the detainers has led to the release of more than 1,700 criminal illegal aliens since January 20, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) explained. Crimes committed by the illegal immigrants include murder, assault, burglaries and robberies, drugs and weapons offenses, and sexual predatory offenses. Some of the criminal activities surround crimes involving children.
Lyons’ letter to Raoul, obtained by Fox News, says the criminals should be “swiftly removed from the United States … and not be returned to our streets to wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens.” The letter expands upon one Lyons sent in September.
“Governor Pritzker and his fellow Illinois sanctuary politicians are releasing murderers, pedophiles, and kidnappers back into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “We are calling on Governor Pritzker and his administration to stop this dangerous derangement and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in Illinois’ custody. It is common sense. Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.”
ICE agents arrested nearly 550 illegal aliens residing in Illinois as part of its “Operation Midway Blitz” in September. The operation was named in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old woman killed in a drunk driving crash by an illegal immigrant.
