“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) focuses its civil immigration enforcement priorities on the apprehension and removal of noncitizens who pose a threat to national security, border security, and public safety,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday.
“ICE does not transport noncitizens into the interior of the U.S. for release, nor does it pay for the transportation of noncitizens who are released. ICE transports single adult noncitizens for purposes of detention, transport for medical purposes, staging for removal from the country, or transport to a point of release near a detention facility.”
The ICE website notes that 97% released from ICE custody in fiscal year 2022 have no criminal history and ICE officers arrested more than 12,200 noncitizens in the first quarter of that fiscal year.
There were more than 178,000 migrant apprehensions in December, coming on the back of a year that saw more than 212,000 monthly encounters at one point in the crisis.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Kelly Laco is a politics editor for Fox News Digital.
Leave a Reply