More than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide are living outside immigration detention in the US

More than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide, either in the U.S. or abroad, are living outside of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, according to data ICE shared with Congress earlier this week.

These individuals are part of ICE’s "non-detained" docket, meaning the agency has some information on them and they have pending immigration cases in the U.S. However, they are not currently in detention, either because they aren't prioritized for it, are serving time in jail or prison, or ICE can't locate them, according to three law enforcement officials.

Two officials said it's unclear how many of these individuals are incarcerated, as ICE doesn’t always receive that data from state and local law enforcement.

Acting ICE Director P.J. Lechleitner provided this information, as of July 21, in response to a request from Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales in March.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said the data is being misinterpreted and covers a period going back four decades, well before the Biden administration.

It is unclear when the first of the 13,000 immigrants crossed into the U.S. Two law enforcement officials told NBC News that many migrants on ICE’s non-detained docket, including serious criminals, entered the country during previous administrations, including that of former President Donald Trump.

Having a large number of non-detained immigrants with criminal convictions is not a new issue, though the number has increased in recent years.

A 2016 report from the DHS Inspector General revealed 368,000 criminal immigrants were not detained by ICE. According to ICE's fiscal year 2023 budget justification, there were 405,786 convicted criminal immigrants on the non-detained docket as of June 2021, shortly after Trump left office, indicating many of these individuals entered under his administration. As of July this year, ICE data provided to Rep. Gonzales showed over 435,719 convicted criminal immigrants on the non-detained docket.

A DHS spokesperson reiterated that the data spans several decades, including individuals who entered the U.S. over the last 40 years. Many custody decisions were made long before this administration, and the data also includes people currently under federal, state, or local jurisdiction.

During a campaign stop in Michigan on Friday, Trump used the data to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris and current immigration policies, stating, “I told you so,” referring to what he described as "hard, tough, vicious criminals" who are free to roam.