ICE warns that Illinois is releasing violent criminal illegal aliens despite arrests, endangering public safety

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is warning that officials in Illinois are releasing violent criminal illegal aliens despite active immigration detentions, a move the agency says puts the public at risk.

In the letter shared with Fox News Digital, Todd Lyons, ICE’s senior official serving as director, said Illinois has “tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens” in custody — individuals who, he noted, have committed crimes ranging from murder and rape to child pornography and armed robbery.

Lyons said these offenders “must be quickly removed from the United States… and not returned to our streets to wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens.”

DHS Torches ‘BAMBOOZLED’ DEMS FOR CALLING ICE CRACKDOWN ‘CRUEL LIES’

Illinois has released 1,768 criminal aliens with active detainees since January 2025, according to ICE data. ICE said crimes associated with these perpetrators include murders, assaults, burglaries, weapons offenses and sexual predatory crimes.

ICE badge on an officer’s uniform; The agency says Illinois is releasing offenders with active inmates, endangering public safety. (REUTERS/Jose Luis González)

Grieving Mother Condemns PRITZKER FOR ‘PROTECTING’ CRIMINALS AFTER DEATH OF DAUGHTER LINKED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

The agency also said another 4,015 criminal aliens with pending warrants remain in state or local custody, including individuals linked to 51 murders and more than 800 sex robberies.

ICE provided a list of some of the detainees who were denied, prompting federal agents to track down the offenders after their release.

They include Victor Manuel Mendoza-Garcia, convicted of three counts of aggravated kidnapping; Juan Morales Martinez, tied to a fatal car accident; and Amilcar Waldo Gonzalez-Jimenez, convicted of two counts of criminal sexual assault. In both cases, ICE says local agencies failed to notify the agency before releasing the individuals.

Some of the other cases cited by ICE involve offenders convicted of child abduction, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, attempted murder and aggravated kidnapping.

The Illinois General Assembly. (iStock)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

According to the documents, some of the perpetrators were later rearrested or removed from the United States by ICE.

Lyons warned that Illinois’ continued refusal to honor immigration detainees “clearly endangers public safety” and asked whether the state plans to change course or continue releasing violent offenders who could otherwise “walk the streets of Illinois again.”