Since January 2021, sanctuary jurisdictions have released more than 22,000 jailed criminal aliens that ICE was seeking to take into custody for removal, according to ICE records on declined detainers provided to Congress.
The number has grown each year, and represents 6 to 7 percent of ICE detainers issued in those years. Each declined detainer represents a deportable criminal alien who was released back into the community and given the opportunity to prey on more victims. The number reported by ICE include detainers declined by the law enforcement agency with custody of the alien, cases in which the local law enforcement agency provided insufficient notice to ICE to arrive before the alien’s release, and early releases of aliens despite a detainer.
Number of ICE Detainers Declined by Local Jurisdictions: Jan. 20, 2021 - July 15, 2024 | |
| Year | Number |
| 2021* | 2,512 |
| 2022 | 5,723 |
| 2023 | 7,934 |
| 2024* | 5,871 |
| Total | 22,040 |
Note: * Denotes partial year. The 2021 figure covers January 20, 2021 - September 30, 2021. The 2024 figure covers October 1, 2023 - July 15, 2024. | |
A 2015 ICE report found that 23 percent of criminal aliens released by sanctuaries were subsequently arrested for new crimes within eight months of release.
For a complete list of sanctuaries across the United States, including those ICE has identified as non-cooperative on detainers, see the Center’s report.