Homeland Security calls for New York AG Letitia James to turn over 7K illegal migrants

The Department of Homeland Security sent a letter Monday to New York Attorney General Letitia James, demanding that she turn over the more than 7,000 illegal migrants that are allegedly locked up in jails and prisons in the state.

Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons claimed that nearly 7,000 illegal migrants, who had active detainers because they allegedly committed thousands of crimes, were released back into the state since January and 7,113 illegal migrants with active ICE detainers are currently locked up in New York, according to the New York Post.

“These are people who are not only in the country illegally, but who have committed additional crimes, including heinous crimes like murder, rape, possession of child pornography, armed robbery, and many others," Lyons wrote. 

The DHS said that the migrants are being protected by New York's sanctuary laws, which limit local law enforcement cooperation with immigration agents. 

The department also said the 7,113 illegal migrants are allegedly responsible for a combined 148 homicides, 717 assaults, 134 burglaries, 106 robberies, 235 dangerous drug offenses, 152 weapons offenses and 260 sexual predatory offenses.

“Virtually all Americans agree that people like this should be swiftly removed from the United States when they leave New York’s custody and not be returned to our streets to wreak havoc on law abiding citizens,” Lyons said.

The letter comes after Lyons sent a similar letter to the attorney general's office in September, which was unanswered, the New York Post also reported.

 Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.