(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched a new website for Americans to use to search and locate criminal foreign nationals who’ve been arrested in their neighborhoods.
DHS’ “Worst of the Worst” provides information about an initial 10,000 criminal foreign nationals who’ve been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during enforcement operations in all 50 states.
It includes the name and photo of the arrested individual, their nationality and criminal history. It allows users to search by term, country of origin and by the state where the arrest happened.
“This new Worst of the Worst webpage allows every American to see for themselves the criminal illegal aliens that we are arresting, what crimes they committed, and what communities we removed them from. This is all about transparency and showing results,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “As the media whitewashes the facts, day in and day out, our brave men and women of ICE risk their lives for the American people. Americans don’t have to rely on the press for this information – with this transparent tool, they can see for themselves what public safety threats were lurking in their neighborhoods and communities.”
The website was launched after ICE’s Acting Director Todd Lyons earlier this year contacted the attorneys general of California, Illinois and New York about their states’ noncompliance with ICE detainer requests and policies of releasing criminals onto the streets.
The states prohibit local jurisdictions, including jails and prisons, from complying with ICE detainer requests for illegal foreign nationals already in custody, The Center Square reported. Sanctuary policies are being implemented in cities where cashless bail for serious crimes exists, compounding the problem and making it more difficult for ICE to apprehend them, DHS says.
A few months after Lyons’ warning, ICE reported that more than 14,000 detainer requests hadn’t been honored in New York alone. More than 7,000 current detainer requests are being ignored after nearly 7,000 criminals were released onto the streets statewide this year. Those released include gang members, known or suspected terrorists on the federal terrorist watchlist, convicted felons including child sex offenders, rapists and murderers, The Center Square reported.
The website was also launched after assaults against ICE officers increased by 1,153% and death threats against ICE officers increased by 8,000% in 11 months, The Center Square reported.
ICE and U.S. Custom and Border Protection and Border Patrol officers have also experienced a surge of targeted vehicular attacks, with vehicular attacks against ICE officers up by 1,300%, The Center Square reported.
The attacks have increased partially due to “malicious lies and hoaxes, driven by hateful rhetoric from the mainstream media, continue to distort the work of the brave men and women of ICE and CBP,” DHS says.
The website includes an initial 10,000 arrests with additional entries being added and updated over time, DHS says.
Criminal foreign nationals being arrested are being deported.
In the first 10 months of the Trump administration, more than two million illegal foreign nationals have been removed from the U.S. This includes 1.6 million who agreed to voluntarily self-deport and more than 527,000 who were apprehended and deported, The Center Square reported.
