More than 1 million people living in the United States illegally have been ordered deported by an immigration judge but remain in the country, former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Torres said in an interview on Newsmax Saturday.
Torres, who appeared on "Saturday Agenda," described how ICE operations target individuals and added that immigration enforcement under different administrations has shifted priorities.
"Huge difference," Torres said, comparing policies. "Talk about being told to only focus on the worst of the worst, which is really less than 1% of the people that are out there illegally here in the U.S. Suddenly, you are focusing on the worst, but no one is off the table — night and day."
Torres explained that ICE operations are complex and often dangerous, requiring careful planning before agents make arrests.
"Much more dangerous than just taking someone into custody at a county jail, for example, and doing a handoff from a sheriff's department to an ICE agent," Torres said.
"So what you have here are a number of people that are targeted. You have to think that there are over a million out of the 10 to 15 million that are illegally here,” he added.
Torres continued, “Over a million of them in the U.S. have already been ordered deported by an immigration judge, which means they've had their due process, and they've gone through the entire cycle and then have been ordered removed and have still not left the country and are now out living in the community."
Torres said ICE forms teams to execute operations and gathers extensive background information on targets, including their criminal history and potential risks.
"If it's more than just them crossing the border illegally, then they'll take a look at what are the threats," he said. "Are they a gang member? Are they a national security target? There's a whole list of different types of areas that you need to focus on for officer safety purposes. And then they'll go knock on these doors, preferably early in the morning, to catch them off guard."
Torres also addressed the role of local governments, saying some officials refuse to cooperate with ICE detainers, which can result in violent criminals being released back into communities.
"It's absolutely terrible public safety policy," he said. "If you're trying to protect the community, you should take that into consideration before letting a violent criminal back on the street, especially if they have a long criminal history and they're recidivists. They keep continuing to commit violent crimes."
Torres cited an example from Houston, where a local police department refused to honor an ICE warrant.
"Later on, sadly, that person killed a police officer during a traffic stop," Torres said. "And that really changes the discussion at that point. But it shouldn't have to get to that point."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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