On Friday NFL reporter Michele Tafoya took aim at pop superstar Taylor Swift following Swift’s public endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Swift, who has been a vocal advocate for various political causes in recent years, posted a lengthy Instagram message after September 10th’s debate outlining her reasons for backing the Harris-Walz ticket.
“I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice,” Swift wrote to her over 11 million followers, urging others to also research and make informed decisions. On Friday, Tafoya criticized the pop star for not acknowledging the alleged negative impacts of Harris’s policies, particularly on immigration and public safety.
“Dear @taylorswift13 — Did you factor this into your research? What about the victims of sexual assault? What about the 330,000 children who were lost thanks to Kamala’s open border? #DoYourResearch,” Tafoya wrote, amplifying the troubling statistics involving immigration.
The tweet from Tafoya referenced recent claims made by Acting ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner, who stated that 13,000 known illegal immigrants convicted of homicide and 15,000 convicted of sexual assault had been released into the country during the current administration’s tenure.
The debate highlights a growing trend of celebrity involvement in politics, as figures from the entertainment industry increasingly use their platforms to influence elections. Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Patrick Lechleitner disclosed on Friday that more than 13,000 noncitizens with murder convictions are currently residing in the United States, having crossed the Biden-Harris administration’s border. The data emerged from a letter sent to Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX).
According to the letter, as of July 2024, there are 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket. Among them, a jaw-dropping 13,099 have been convicted of homicide. Even more concerning, these individuals are not in federal custody; they are part of ICE’s “non-detained docket,” meaning they are living freely within U.S. borders while awaiting immigration proceedings, which could take years to resolve.
“We are removing and returning record numbers of migrants who are unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States, and prioritizing for removal those who present national security and public safety risks, and recent border crossers,” Lechleitner wrote. “From mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals, including more than 138,300 individuals in family units. The majority of all individuals encountered at the Southwest Border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled.”
The latest adds fuel to the already heated debate over immigration policies under the current administration. Republican lawmakers have long criticized Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their handling of the southern border, accusing them of neglecting national security in favor of politically motivated leniency.
The numbers are indeed staggering: of the 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories, 435,719 are convicted criminals, and an additional 226,847 face pending criminal charges. The numbers also go beyond murder convictions. The Acting ICE Director’s letter further revealed that more than 15,800 noncitizens convicted of sexual assault are also on the non-detained docket. Additionally, there are nearly 1,900 individuals with pending homicide charges and over 4,250 with pending sexual assault charges currently roaming free in the U.S.
ICE’s limited capacity is exacerbating the problem. According to the agency’s report, ICE’s detention centers have the capacity for 41,500 individuals, a slight increase from the previous fiscal year, but still insufficient given the sheer volume of individuals entering the country. Meanwhile, state and local law enforcement agencies have refused to cooperate with ICE detainer requests, further complicating efforts to detain and deport dangerous individuals.
Republicans have used the report as a rallying cry to demand immediate reforms to the immigration system. Many argue that sanctuary city policies are putting American lives at risk by shielding violent criminals from deportation. Meanwhile, Democrats, particularly those in sanctuary cities, have expressed their concerns that too close a relationship between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities could harm immigrant communities and erode trust. With over 13,000 convicted murderers and thousands of other dangerous criminals free within U.S. borders, the question of how to balance public safety with fair immigration enforcement remains a hot-button issue for November.
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