Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of releasing dangerous criminals, including murderers and rapists, from detention facilities.
These contentious allegations have sparked significant concerns over national security and immigration enforcement, The Center Square reported.
Governor Bill Lee first discovered the origins of these claims in December 2022 when he learned about ICE's plans to release a substantial number of foreign nationals in Nashville.
This plan initially aimed to coincide with the expiration of Title 42 in May 2023, a pandemic-era rule that permitted the speedy expulsion of foreign nationals to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Seeking clarity, state and Nashville city officials requested detailed information from ICE about the number and origin of the foreigners, along with the resources that ICE would provide to them.
After their inquiries through the Freedom of Information Act yielded no results, Tennessee joined several states in a legal challenge.
In response to this legal action, a court ruled in favor of Tennessee and other states, including Florida and Texas, prohibiting the mass release of detainees.
Despite this ruling, ICE released over 7,000 detainees from Louisiana facilities, raising concerns among state officials and the public.
Among those released, ICE classified more than 30 individuals as high-level security threats due to their serious criminal histories.
Specifically, the offenses of the detainees, numbering around 7,000, included homicide, sexual assault, armed robbery, and kidnapping, with some even flagged by the U.S. State Department for terrorism concerns.
Initially, the coordinated effort for mass release as Title 42 expired involved the ICE-New Orleans field office. However, despite the planning, the significant legal and local pushback led officials to change their approach.
Consequently, authorities ultimately paroled, bonded out, or released the detainees under supervision, with only a few claiming asylum.
These events led Attorney General Skrmetti to publicly condemn the Biden-Harris administration's actions. "knowingly released murderers and rapists from its migrant detention facilities onto American streets," he stated, expressing his office's commitment to "keep fighting to hold the federal government accountable for its catastrophic ongoing failure to enforce immigration laws."
Skrmetti articulated the gravity of the federal government's decisions, stating, "The federal government’s single most important job is to keep dangerous people out of our country and instead it has let killers and rapists illegally cross our border and walk free on our streets."
Amidst the ongoing debates and legislative discussions in Washington aimed at repairing the U.S. immigration system, Skrmetti pledged continued efforts for transparency and accountability. “While the urgent work to fix our broken immigration system continues in Washington, my Office will keep fighting for transparency and accountability,” he added.
The Tennessee Attorney General's Office emphasized the importance of collaboration between state and federal governments to address and rectify the complexities associated with immigration policies. Furthermore, they stressed the need for better management and enforcement to safeguard communities across the nation.
