Illinois Under Fire for Releases as ICE Flags Hundreds of Violent Offenders Freed Despite Detainers

A fresh clash over public safety erupted this week as federal immigration officials accused Illinois authorities of repeatedly releasing dangerous criminal offenders who are in the country illegally — even when federal…

Andrew PowellDec 8, 20252 min read

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According to the

agency

,

Illinois

has already released 1,768 criminal aliens with active detainers this year alone.

Those individuals, ICE said, were tied to crimes such as homicides, assaults, burglaries, weapons offenses, and sexual-predatory acts.

Another 4,015 offenders with pending detainers remain in state or local custody. That group, ICE noted, includes people connected to 51 homicide cases and more than 800 sexual-predatory offenses.

Federal officials also provided several examples showing where detainers were ignored, forcing ICE officers to pursue the offenders after they had already been set free.

Among them was Victor Manuel Mendoza-Garcia, convicted of three counts of aggravated kidnapping.

Another was Juan Morales Martinez, linked to a fatal vehicle crash. ICE also pointed to Amilcar Waldo Gonzalez-Jimenez, who was convicted of two counts of criminal sexual assault.

In every instance, the agency said local officials released the individuals without notifying ICE.

Other cases involved people convicted of attempted murder, child abduction, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, and aggravated kidnapping.

Some of those offenders were eventually tracked down, re-arrested, or removed from the country, according to ICE records.

Lyons warned that Illinois’ refusal to honor immigration detainers “plainly jeopardizes public safety” and pressed state leaders to clarify whether they intend to change direction — or continue releasing individuals who federal officials argue are likely to “walk the streets of Illinois again.”