WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department is working on an automated system to notify state and local authorities when an illegal immigrant with a serious criminal history is released into their jurisdictions, according to a letter from a pair of Texas lawmakers.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have been critical of the agency's decision to release convicted criminals facing deportation from immigration jails.
During the 2013 budget year, ICE released 36,007 criminal immigrants who were facing deportation, including those accounting for 193 homicide and 426 sexual assault convictions, according to ICE statistics. All of the immigrants released from immigration jail had finished their criminal jail sentences and still face deportation.
ICE has said in the past that it is forced by court rulings and other rules to release some immigrants with records, including those whose home countries refuse to provide travel documents. The agency said about 72 percent of the criminals released from immigration jails last year were so-called mandatory releases.
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