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ICE Says Illinois Freed 1,768 Criminal Noncitizens Despite Detainers and Warns of DOJ Move

The agency signaled it may ask the Justice Department to act over what it calls widespread refusals to honor arrest holds.

Overview

  • Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons sent a letter citing agency data that Illinois released 1,768 people with active detainers since Jan. 20, 2025.
  • ICE says 4,015 people with pending detainers remain in Illinois custody, including individuals linked to 51 homicides and more than 800 sexual‑predatory offenses.
  • ICE warned it would engage the Justice Department and other federal partners to pursue measures against jurisdictions that do not honor detainers.
  • Lyons addressed the letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul after a similar September inquiry went unanswered, and state offices did not comment to reporters.
  • The agency named cases in which jails released offenders without notifying ICE—such as Victor Manuel Mendoza-Garcia, Juan Morales Martinez, and Amilcar Waldo Gonzalez-Jimenez—and said some were later re-arrested or removed.