By Steve Neavling
More noncitizens charged with or convicted of crimes were released from custody during Donald Trump’s administration than during President Joe Biden’s term, according to an analysis by the Cato Institute.
The Cato Institute report found that between October 2017 and October 2020, more than 92,920 noncitizens with criminal records were released from custody, including over 8,000 violent offenders and 300 individuals convicted of murder. In comparison, from 2021 through June 2024, a smaller number — 56,280 — were released under Biden’s administration.
Despite Trump’s assertions that the Biden administration has allowed more violent criminals into the U.S., the report suggests otherwise. Trump has vowed to reinstate stringent border policies, including the “Remain in Mexico” program and Title 42, the latter implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the report also noted that illegal border crossings by individuals with criminal backgrounds rose after Title 42 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“One of his very first actions in office, the very first week that he was in office, he rescinded requirements for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to focus on convicted criminals,” Cato Institute’s Director of Immigration Studies David Bier told Newsweek. “First felons and then other people who committed serious misdemeanors, he revoked those requirements that were put in place by the Obama administration. So it was no longer a requirement for ICE to detain and arrest criminals over people who are just in the country illegally, who didn’t have any criminal convictions.”
Throughout his campaign, Trump has claimed that Biden’s policies have opened the country to thousands of migrant criminals. Recently, 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 false, noting it was based on a misrepresentation of 40 years of data, which also included individuals who were incarcerated.
Trump, alongside his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has used cities like Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Col., to illustrate what they describe as communities overwhelmed by migrant crime. While Aurora has reported an uptick in activity linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, local officials argue that Trump and Vance’s portrayal is exaggerated.
Data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request further indicates that ICE released significantly more migrants with criminal records during Trump’s administration. In 2019, ICE released 22,790 convicted migrants — more than double the highest yearly figure under Biden’s term, recorded at 10,310 in 2021.
Among those released from 2017 to 2020 were 576 individuals convicted of sexual assault or rape, 3,900 who had committed assault, and 1,435 convicted of domestic violence offenses. When Title 42 was implemented in early 2020, the Border Patrol ceased recording detailed criminal histories for released individuals, leaving gaps in data from that period onward.
From December 2020 to June 2024, ICE reduced releases of convicted criminals by 54 percent, according to the report.
“[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 concluded.
