Based on combined records, the total number of immigrant noncitizens in the U.S. who have murder convictions is around "tens of thousands" more than the 13,400 listed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) national docket. This was further supported by a data expert, since the criminal records of border-hoppers in their native countries are not included into the U.S. data.
Fox News Digital reported that the figures released last week via ICE’s national docket show that 277 noncitizens are currently being held by ICE, while 13,099 noncitizens are on the non-detained docket with homicide convictions. ICE’s non-detained docket includes noncitizens who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not detained in ICE custody.
Of the 13,099 convicted murderers not being detained by ICE, it is unclear how many are incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement, or roaming the streets. There are an additional 1,845 on the non-detained docket with pending homicide charges.
In total, 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories are on ICE’s national docket, which stretches back decades.
The figures highlights the gravity and seriousness that illegal immigration and not vetting immigrants thoroughly poses to law-abiding people living in the U.S. The figures sparked an outcry from border security advocates.
Sean Kennedy, who specializes in law enforcement and crime data analysis, said to Fox News Digital that the numbers of noncitizens in the U.S. who have murder convictions — as well as convictions for other crimes like assault and rape — is much higher than the 13,376 on ICE’s detained and non-detained dockets because those convictions only apply to crimes committed in the U.S. and not murders committed in migrants’ home countries.
"We don't know how many people have come into the United States over the last decades, let alone in the last few years, who have criminal convictions or offenses overseas," Kennedy said. "Very few of the migrants who crossed the border who have criminal records will ever be properly vetted because the criminal records in their home countries are insufficient, they're not compatible with, or they're just plain not shared with the United States. And we've seen this over and over again."
Kennedy cited the case of a Peruvian gang leader, Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, who was wanted for nearly two dozen murders in his home country and entered the U.S. illegally at the Texas-Mexico border on May 16, as an example of how the vetting process is letting violent criminals into the U.S.
He was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol near Roma, Texas, before being released into the U.S. with a notice to appear for immigration proceedings, Fox News learned. It took almost two months before federal authorities learned Torres-Navarro was wanted in Peru for 23 killings, including the slaying of a retired police officer.
"He was a drug gang lord, and we didn't know that because Peru didn't tell us, or he wasn't listed in a database that we had access to because our databases are very limited," Kennedy said.