President-elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security repeated a widely debunked claim that 13,000 convicted murderers who illegally crossed the U.S. border are "loose in this country."
The Senate held its confirmation hearing for South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Friday, during which the Department of Homeland Security-hopeful was grilled on border security. "Our nation is a nation with borders or we're no nation at all," Noem stated in a declaration of her intent to focus on securing the Southern border.
🚨 TRUMP DHS NOMINEE KRISTI NOEM: There are consequences when Americans break the law. Yet when illegals break the law, there are none. Thousands of r*pists and m*rderers are free... many others with criminal convictions... and the Biden admin did nothing. We will be doing that... pic.twitter.com/xDiWcKnuHs
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 17, 2025
"We've had over 13,000 murderers that are loose in this country come over that border," Noem continued. "We've had almost 16,000 rapists and sexual assault perpetuators that are loose in this country right now. 425,000+ people have criminal convictions that are here illegally in this country."
The claim stems from a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report stating that 13,099 noncitizen migrants convicted of homicide are currently on ICE's docket for removal. However, this figure has been widely misinterpreted and distorted in political discourse, the Cato Institute, a fact-checking think tank, stated.
Contrary to Noem's assertion that murderers are roaming free, the majority of these individuals are serving prison sentences in state or federal facilities and are classified as "non-detained" by ICE reporting because they are not in ICE custody. Upon completing their sentences, they are transferred to ICE for deportation proceedings.
Furthermore, some convicted criminals cannot be deported due to legal limitations. Cuba, China, and Iran do not have repatriation agreements with the U.S., making deportation illegal and logistically impossible.
Noem's claim also incorrectly implies that these homicide convictions occurred recently and during the Biden administration. In reality, the convictions span more than 40 years, covering multiple administrations.
Notably, data does not support claims that immigrants are disproportionately responsible for violent crime. Even under assumptions that maximize their criminality, migrants accounted for less than 2.5% of all U.S. homicides over the last 40 years, while their population share was higher.
Research consistently shows that immigrants, including undocumented ones, are less likely to commit violent crimes than native-born Americans. Data from Texas—the state with the most comprehensive immigration-related crime statistics—reveals that illegal immigrants accounted for just 5% of homicide convictions in 2022, despite making up 7.1% of the population.
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