By Jessica Vaughan, Bryan Griffith August 22, 2014 at CIS
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The 169 aliens with homicide-related convictions who were freed by ICE in 2013 were booked out of detention facilities in 24 different states, with the largest number in California, according to information provided to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). ICE records show that these convicted killers were associated with 96 different cities and towns across America. The city with the largest concentration was Miami, with seven convicted murderers freed by ICE, followed by Los Angeles with six.

Red Points: Zip Codes of Released Convicted Murderers
Blue Squares: Final Book Out Detention Center for the Releases (Not all locations are exact)
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ICE provided the information to Sen. Grassley in response to concerns based on a CIS report revealing that ICE freed 36,007 aliens with criminal convictions in 2013, an occurrence that Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) called “the worst prison break in history.” Sen. Grassley asked ICE for more details, particularly on the 169 criminal aliens with homicide convictions, including the reason for release, the location of release, and the zip code of the alien’s last known address.

First, it must be noted that the original ICE document enumerating the 36,007 releases indicates that the count of criminal aliens with homicide convictions is 193, not 169. It is not clear why ICE did not provide information to Sen. Grassley on all 193 homicide-conviction releases.

ICE states that 154 of the 169 aliens with homicide-related convictions were freed because of a court order, leaving nine releases that were at ICE’s discretion. This contradicts an earlier ICE statement saying that about one-fourth of the releases (or about 48) were discretionary.

Some of the court-ordered releases are the so-called Zadvydas cases, where ICE must release or anticipates being ordered to release an alien because the alien’s country refuses to cooperate in the deportation process. Others are likely the result of a Ninth Circuit ruling allowing for bond hearings for aliens whose detention lasts for six months.

ICE says that the discretionary releases were due to “eligibility for bond” or “deteriorated health or advanced age”, without providing details or numbers.

ICE does not specify how many, if any, of the homicide convicts have been removed from the country. It states that only 131 have been issued a final order of removal, and that one of the freed convicts was granted voluntary departure. That individual is the only one that ICE says has left the country. This gives the impression that the rest of the homicide convicts who were freed are still at large somewhere in the United States.

ICE’s response follows on an internal audit report on ICE’s botched case management that resulted in the release of 2,226 detainees in February 2013. Most of those releases occurred in Texas and Arizona.

The following is a listing of the cities and towns associated with the freed aliens with homicide-related convictions in 2013, which are shown in red on the map. ICE also provided a list of the detention centers from which the aliens were released, which are shown in blue on the map.


Cities and Towns Associated with Convicted Murderers Freed by ICE in 2013
(Note: This list is derived from the list of zip codes provided by ICE that were associated with the criminal alien’s last known address. This information was not available for every released alien. In addition, there could be more than one convict associated with a zip code.)

Alaska (2)
  Anchorage2
Arizona (3)
  Phoenix1
  Buckeye1
  Tucson1
California (48)
  Los Angeles6
  Pomona3
  San Jose3
  Glendale2
  Sacramento2
  Beverly Hills1
  Huntington Park1
  San Pedro1
  Montrose1
  Pacoima1
  Reseda1
  Burbank1
  N. Hollywood1
  Chino Hills1
  S. El Monte1
  La Puenta1
  Rosemead1
  Oceanside1
  Vista1
  Adelanto1
  Murrieta1
  Irvine1
  Westminster1
  Anaheim1
  Fullerton1
  Garden Grove1
  Corona1
  Oxnard1
  Batton Willow1
  Fresno1
  San Francisco1
  Antioch1
  Hayward1
  Emeryville1
  Stockton1
  Rancho Cordova1
  Tahoe City1
Florida (23)
  Miami7
  Hialeah3
  Homestead2
  Lake Worth2
  Tallahassee1
  Oviedo1
  Pembroke Pines1
  Opa-locka1
  Ft. Lauderdale1
  W. Palm Beach1
  Delray Beach1
  St. Petersburg1
  Naples1
Georgia (7)
  Atlanta3
  Lawrenceville1
  Norcross1
  Mableton1
  Newnan1
Illinois (2)
  Plainfield1
  Springfield1
Iowa (2)
  Des Moines1
  Sioux City1
Kentucky (1)
  Louisville1
Louisiana (2)
  Kenner1
  Baton Rouge1
Maryland (1)
  Owings Mills1
Michigan (1)
  Pontiac1
Minnesota (5)
  Minneapolis2
  St. Paul1
  Mankato1
  Willmar1
Nevada (2)
  Reno2
New York (15)
  Bronx5
  Brooklyn3
  Manhattan2
  Staten Island1
  Ridgewood1
  Queens Village1
  Jamaica1
  Syracuse1
North Carolina (4)
  Charlotte2
  Durham1
  Wingate1
Ohio (2)
  Columbus1
  N. Olmsted1
Oklahoma (1)
  Gate1
Oregon (2)
  Fairview1
  Portland1
Pennsylvania (3)
  Sharon1
  Allentown1
  Philadelphia1
Texas (4)
  Houston2
  Cypress1
  Katy1
Virginia (2)
  Alexandria2
Washington (1)
  Seattle1
Wisconsin (1)
  Milwaukee1
Total134