ICE forced to release some illegal migrants who could pose danger to Americans: immigration attorney

Although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has highlighted a emergence successful amerciable migrant arrests nether President Donald Trump, the bureau is present grappling with abstraction limitations for detained transgression migrants.

"It's got these lofty goals, with large numbers, and decidedly not a deficiency of trying and a deficiency of effort successful trying to marque that a reality, but is facing applicable issues," Héctor Quirog, a specializer migration lawyer with the Quiroga Law Office successful Spokane, Washington, told Fox News Digital.

"Number one, we person got problems with however galore detention centers and however galore beds are available," helium said. "Because, similar it oregon not, immoderate individuals should person a hearing, and they person to hold somewhere. So we person capableness issues."

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ICE agents arrested 7 amerciable immigrants during a workforce cognition raid. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Since President Trump resumed bureau connected Jan. 20, ICE has importantly intensified enforcement operations. 

On Jan. 23, ICE conducted coordinated raids crossed large U.S. cities, resulting successful the detention of 538 individuals. Subsequent operations person continued astatine a precocious pace; for instance, connected Jan. 29, ICE arrested 956 individuals, marking the highest regular apprehension number nether the Trump administration. 

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During the archetypal period of President Trump's 2nd term, astir 8,276 individuals were arrested by migration officers. ​

President Donald Trump speaks successful the Oval Office of the White House arsenic helium signs enforcement orders, March 6, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)

Congress, successful FY 2024, funded ICE to person 41,500 beds, costing astir $3.4 cardinal annually. 

In its December 2024 yearly report, ICE stated it had "relatively static bedspace," which "forces the bureau to cautiously prioritize whom it detains."

"You bash past person to person immoderate priorities," Quirog said. "Who bash I clasp and who bash I release? Well, I privation to clasp radical who person transgression records and the others volition beryllium released connected ankle bracelets oregon beryllium required to cheque in."

"Detention and beds and who we are going to clasp are applicable issues the medication is going to person to look beauteous rapidly if you privation to get to the numbers that they were promising successful the campaign," helium said.

A U.S. emblem blows down a obstruction topped with concertina ligament astatine Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. (Maren Hennemuth/picture confederation via Getty Images)

A Gallup canvass released astatine the opening of the Trump medication recovered that 68% of Americans foretell that Trump volition power amerciable immigration. Just 28% of those polled said helium would not.

Despite optimism, the medication has faced abstraction constraints. An NBC News study noted that immoderate person been fto spell nether supervision orders, specified arsenic the usage of GPS tags.

The ongoing abstraction constraints person led officials to acceptable up tents astatine the U.S. Naval Station successful Guantánamo Bay. However, 2 U.S. defence officials told Fox News that nary of the 195 beds prepared person been utilized to location migrants, due to the fact that they bash not conscionable ICE standards.

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As of Wednesday, only 20 migrants were being held astatine the base. Sixteen "high-threat amerciable aliens" are being held astatine the detention installation portion of the base, besides known arsenic Camp 6, and 4 migrants are being held astatine a back-up installation owed to the inadequacy of the tents.

DHS and ICE person not responded to inquiries regarding what criteria is utilized to measure if a migrant is simply a precocious threat.

ICE is conducting flights to region amerciable immigrants from the U.S. and backmost to their location countries. (ICE Seattle)

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ICE has said it volition necessitate an further $3 cardinal owed to needing an further 60,000 detention beds. The further beds are driven, successful part, by the transition of the Laken Riley Act, which requires the DHS to detain amerciable immigrants who person been arrested for theft-related crimes. 

"Since the Laken Riley Act requires ERO to instantly detain those noncitizens, ERO would past require, astatine minimum, 64,000 further detention beds; nevertheless this does not relationship for different migration enforcement mandates that whitethorn spot a request for accrued detention capacity," a missive from ICE said, successful effect to questions by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga.

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In Congress, Republicans are preparing to marque important backing changes via the fund reconciliation process. Border information and interior enforcement would apt beryllium apical priorities for Republicans, fixed the issues’ prominence successful the 2024 election.

Fox News Digital has reached retired to ICE, DHS and the White House for comment.

Fox News' Liz Friden and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.