Twice the number of detainers were issued for criminal illegal foreign nationals under the Trump administration than the Biden administration, according to a new analysis of federal data published by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The nonprofit data research center is affiliated with the Newhouse School of Public Communications and Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.
Detainers are issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), otherwise known as “immigration holds,” to apprehend and detain often violent individuals wanted for a crime in another country, arrested or convicted of one in the U.S., or placed in removal proceedings by a federal immigration judge.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris has long called for abolishing ICE, defunding ICE detention facilities, and defunding ICE agent positions. President Donald Trump has said he will expand ICE funding and implement a massive deportation strategy if elected.