Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of criminals increased in fiscal year 2023, but remained significantly lower compared to the Trump administration, according to an agency report published Friday.
ICE had roughly 3,000 criminal arrests in fiscal year 2023 after more than 2,200 in fiscal year 2022 and roughly 2,300 in fiscal year 2021, according to the report.
Meanwhile, ICE recorded more than 4,300 criminal arrests in fiscal year 2020, more than 6,700 in fiscal year 2019 and more than 7,400 in fiscal year 2018 under the Trump administration.
Additionally, the number of driving under the influence (DUI) offenses increased 64% in fiscal year 2023 compared to fiscal year 2022, according to ICE data. ICE recorded more than 43,000 DUI offenses, with more than 26,000 convictions, in fiscal year 2023.
During the previous fiscal year, ICE recorded roughly 26,000 DUI offenses, with more than 17,000 convictions.
“ICE continues to disrupt transnational criminal organizations, remove threats to national security and public safety, uphold the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and collaborate with colleagues across government and law enforcement in pursuit of our mission to keep U.S. communities safe,” Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Patrick J. Lechleitner said in a statement Friday.
“I am proud of the efforts of our more than 20,000-strong workforce who work every day to achieve their mission while also assisting homeland security and law enforcement partners with integrity, courage and excellence,” he said.
Read: Former Border Officer Picks Up More Charges In Texas For Smuggling Illegal Migrants
The Biden administration limited ICE’s enforcement solely to national security, public safety and border security threats in order to “preserve limited government resources.”
“The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen therefore should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a September 2021 agency memo about the limits.
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