More illegal immigrants charged with or convicted of a crime were released during Donald Trump's administration than during President Joe Biden's term, according to an analysis published Wednesday by an influential libertarian think tank.
The report from the Cato Institute found over 92,920 noncitizens with criminal records were released from custody between Oct. 2017 and Oct. 2020, including over 8,000 violent criminals and 300 murderers.
While Trump has insisted that the Biden-Harris administration has allowed more violent criminals into the country, a smaller number — 56,280 —were released between 2021 and June 2024, according to the report.
Trump has promised a return of his strict border policies, including "Remain in Mexico" and Title 42, used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report showed a spike in illegal border crossings by criminals after that measure was introduced.
"One of his very first actions in office, the very first week that he was in office, he rescinded requirements for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to focus on convicted criminals," David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, told Newsweek Wednesday.
"First felons and then other people who committed serious misdemeanors, he revoked those requirements that were put in place by the Obama administration," Bier said. "So it was no longer a requirement for ICE to detain an arrest criminals over people who are just in the country illegally, who didn't have any criminal convictions."
What has Trump said about migrant crime?
The former president has repeatedly claimed throughout the campaign that thousands of migrant criminals have entered the U.S. because of the current administration's policies.
On Oct. 24, he said that "425,000 convicted criminal aliens were released into our country over the last three and a half years." Newsweek fact checked this claim and found it to be false, as it was taken from 40 years of data and included incarcerated individuals.
When talking about his mass deportation plan, the Republican presidential candidate has often referred to immigrants as a group as criminals, murderers and rapists, and has promised to remove millions of illegal migrants from the country, despite the majority not being linked to any other crimes.
Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, have used cities like Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado, as examples of communities being overrun with migrants committing crimes. While Aurora has struggled with an infux of members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, local leaders have said the issue is not as serious as Trump and Vance have claimed.
Thousands of criminal migrants released under Trump
The data obtained by the Cato Institute under a Freedom of Information Act request showed higher rates of criminals being released by the border patrol during Trump's time in office compared to Biden's.
In 2019, ICE released more than twice the number of migrants convicted of crimes (22,790) than during any single year of Biden's term, in which the highest number came in 2021 (10,310).
Among those released between 2017 and 2020 were 576 migrants convicted of sexual assault or rape, 3,900 who had committed assault, and 1,435 who had committed domestic violence offenses.
In early 2020, when Title 42 was introduced by Trump, the border patrol stopped recording breakdowns of criminal histories, so it is not possible to know what those migrants were convicted of or charged with beyond that period.
Figures did show that between December 2020 and June 2024, ICE reduced its release of convicted criminals by 54 percent.
"[The data] shows us that the policies that he's proposing didn't prioritize safety, didn't result in a safer or more secure immigration system," Bier said.
"It shows the opposite. It led to less security, and this is measured not just the number of criminals who were entering, but also the number of people who evaded detection."
An increase in migrant 'getaways' during Trump's term
When the pandemic hit, the Trump administration used Title 42 as a pillar of its strict border security measures. It essentially closed off entry to noncitizens and allowed officers along the southwest border to immediately turn back any who approached.
The DHS data analyzed by the Cato Institute showed that while the policy was in effect, the number of convicted criminals encountered by CBP rose dramatically after years of decline.
More migrants also evaded border patrol, with a steady rise in "getaways" recorded by CBP until Biden revoked Title 42 in May 2023. The number more than doubled between December 2016 (9,145) through Dec. 2020 (22,569). In June of this year, it was back down to 13,104.
Newsweek asked if Biden's executive order in June, which effectively banned asylum, would have a similar impact. Bier said that was unlikely, as current policy does allow U.S. authorities to detain those trying to cross with criminal convictions.
Bier said he believes that the reason so many migrant criminals were able to evade detection or were released is because the Trump administration's focus was not on safety, but on achieving large numbers of migrant removals "by any means necessary".
"So if that that meant, you know, arresting someone who had no criminal conviction, that was totally fine during his term in office, and that's really what mass deportation means," he said. "It means indiscriminate, unprioritized enforcement, where you get whoever you can get, you arrest whoever you can get off the street."
Newsweek reached out to both the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment via email Wednesday morning.
Tough border restrictions will continue
The Cato analysis comes after immigration advocacy groups raised concerns that Trump's plans for mass deportation could impact 1 in 3 Latinos in the U.S., while other experts have warned tougher border policies could negatively affect the economy.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would continue the current restrictions on entry at the southwest border for the foreseeable future.
Vice President Harris has promised to secure the border, adding more border patrol officers and new technology, while also offering increased legal pathways to immigrants.
Voters have repeatedly told pollsters immigration is one of their key concerns this election, with a solid majority of all voters now showing support for mass deportation while also wanting more pathways to citizenship, according to a recent Gallup survey.
One of Trump's main arguments for a tougher approach on immigration is that more migrants are committing crimes, for which he puts the blame on the current administration.
"Everybody wants to blame the president for crimes that are committed," Bier said. "The individuals are responsible, they should pay the price."
"The question is, are we actually making those specific individuals pay the price or not? And which administration or policy is going to better make them be penalized for what they're doing?"
English (US) ·