Why Donald Trump’s claim that Kamala Harris “let in” 13,099 convicted murderers is false

Throughout the presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump said without evidence that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris let in “millions of people from prisons, from prisons.”

He repeated the term “migrant crime” even though violent crime in the U.S. has declined and studies show that immigrants commit crimes less often than U.S. citizens.

To support his point, Trump now cites statistics from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“These are confirmed numbers,” Trump said at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on September 29, later adding: “Kamala let in the 13,099 convicted murderers and is resisting all efforts to find and remove them.”

There are new official figures on the number of immigrants convicted of crimes in the United States. They come from a Sept. 25 letter that Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner wrote to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas. According to the letter, 13,099 immigrants convicted of murder are on the agency’s non-detained list, meaning they are not in immigration detention.

But “the data in this letter is being misinterpreted,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Most of the 13,099 people likely did not enter the U.S. in the last three and a half years; The complete data goes back 40 years. Many of them are not in immigration detention because they are in police custody and serving their sentences. And a ruling by the Supreme Court, not the Biden-Harris administration, said people cannot remain in immigration detention indefinitely. Therefore, people from countries that do not accept deportation flights must be released.

When asked about evidence to support Trump’s claim, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said anyone who crosses the U.S. border illegally is a “criminal.”

How many noncitizens convicted of crimes are not in immigration detention?

In his letter to Gonzales, Lechleitner explained the number of immigrants with criminal convictions who are on the agency’s non-detained immigrant list, meaning they are not in immigration detention.

The list includes people who cross the border illegally and are released to await immigration court proceedings. Because detention space is limited, not everyone who crosses the border illegally can be taken into custody. However, people who are not in custody remain under the authority’s supervision. Immigration officials can track them through a smartphone app, GPS tracking or ankle monitors.

As of July 21, there are 425,431 non-citizens on record convicted of felonies, of which 13,099 were convicted of murder. Other criminal convictions included traffic offences, assault and robbery.

Lechleitner’s letter does not clarify whether people were criminally convicted inside or outside the United States. But U.S. immigration authorities typically prioritize detaining people who cross the border illegally and have criminal convictions in their countries of origin.

Not everyone on the non-detained list entered the U.S. illegally. Lawful permanent residents who commit crimes can also end up in the dock.

The data goes back 40 years, most of which is not from the Biden-Harris administration

The data in Lechleitner’s letter does not only refer to people who entered the United States under the Biden-Harris administration.

“The data goes back decades; they include individuals who have entered the country in the past 40 years or more and whose custody decisions were largely made long before this administration,” the Department of Homeland Security statement said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not disclose the year people convicted of crimes entered the United States. Therefore, it is unclear how many of the 13,099 people convicted of murder entered the country under the Biden-Harris administration.

But if the 13,099 non-citizens had all entered in the last three years, “migrants would have accounted for about a third of all murder convictions from 2021 to 2023,” said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president of economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank wrote : “That’s obviously not true.”

Overall, the number of people not incarcerated has more than doubled under Biden’s administration. In fiscal year 2020, 3.3 million people were on the list. In May 2024 there were 7 million people.

The proportion of non-incarcerated people with criminal convictions has not increased as quickly. As of August 2016, 368,574 noncitizens convicted of crimes were on the non-detained list, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General reported. In June 2021 there were 405,786 people. There are now around 425,000.

Why are noncitizens convicted of crimes that are not held in immigration detention?

There are several reasons why people convicted of crimes are not held in immigration detention.

People are in prison: Many people convicted of crimes are in federal, state or local police custody and in prison, the Department of Homeland Security statement said. Because they are not in an immigration detention center, they are on the non-detained list. But that doesn’t mean they roam the country.

After people are released from police custody, they are generally taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A 2021 Biden administration memo directs immigration authorities to prioritize detaining people who endanger public safety. The Department of Homeland Security told PolitiFact that it has deported 180,000 non-citizens with criminal convictions since January 2021.

However, there are local and state jurisdictions with “sanctuary” policies, meaning state and local officials limit their cooperation with immigration authorities.

People cannot be held in immigration detention indefinitely: Immigration law requires people convicted of serious crimes, such as murder, to be detained. However, the Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that people cannot be detained indefinitely.

This ruling has implications for people coming from countries that do not accept US deportations, such as Cuba, China or Vietnam, Nowrasteh wrote.

While people from another country can be arrested by immigration officials after a conviction and deported after serving their sentence in the U.S., people from one of those countries who have completed their sentence must be released to the U.S. “because of their There is no return agreement in the country of origin or they regularly violate these agreements,” wrote Nowrasteh.

Our verdict

Trump said at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania that Harris “let the 13,099 convicted murderers in and defied all efforts to find and remove them.”

In a letter, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said 13,099 noncitizens have been convicted of murder and are not in immigration detention. However, the data refers to people who entered the country in the last 40 years. There is no evidence that all 13,099 people entered under the Biden-Harris administration.

Many people are not in immigration detention because they are in police custody and serving their sentence.

Once they have served their sentence, immigration law generally requires the detention of people convicted of serious crimes, such as murder. But a ruling by the Supreme Court, not the Biden-Harris administration, said people cannot be held in immigration detention indefinitely. Therefore, people from countries that do not accept deportation flights must be released.

We rate this claim as false.