EXCLUSIVE: Nearly 40,000 Chinese nationals are among more than 1.4 million noncitizens who have deportation orders but who are not currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, according to new figures obtained by Fox News.
The numbers show that there are currently 1,445,549 foreign nationals who are on ICE’s non-detained docket and have final orders of removal as of Nov. 24, 2024.
The non-detained docket includes noncitizens who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not in ICE custody. There are currently more than 7 million people on that docket, which includes those who are incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement but not by ICE. Those in ICE custody are on the detained docket.
NUMBERS OF AFGHANS, CHINESE COMING THROUGH KEY MIGRANT CROSSING SURGED SINCE 2021: REPORT
(Immigration and Customs Enforcement/File)
The top countries of nationals on the list include Mexico (252,044), Guatemala (253,413), Honduras (261,651) and El Salvador (203,822.)
But other countries include China, which has 37,908 nationals on the docket with final orders of removal. Other countries include Haiti (32,363), Iran (2,618), Pakistan (7,76), Uzbekistan, (975) and Venezuela (22,749.)
China is a geopolitical foe of the U.S., and Republicans have expressed concern about the potential for espionage or cyberattacks from Chinese Communist Party members who infiltrate the U.S. Last week, the Justice Department alleged that an illegal immigrant from China shipped weapons to North Korea from California.
Lawmakers have asked for a breakdown of nationalities as well as categories of reasons that make it difficult to deport them.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FROM CHINA SHIPPED WEAPONS TO NORTH KOREA FROM CALIFORNIA: DOJ
Incoming border czar Tom Homan is tasked with leading the Trump administration’s mass deportation operation. (Dr. Phil Podcast YouTube channel)
The number of illegal immigrants on the non-detained docket has soared from 3.7 million in fiscal 2021 to nearly 4.8 million in fiscal 2022 to more than 7 million in fiscal 2023. While many of the non-detained dockets are recent arrivals, others may have been in the country for decades.
In an accompanying note, ICE said it is unable to provide case-specific reasons, but there are several reasons why ICE may not be able to remove those with final orders of removal. They include appeals and those who have been given another form of deportation protection. It also includes those on Alternatives to Detention programs.
“Noncitizens may pursue a form of relief or protection from removal, which may include asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture. If a noncitizen is granted any form of relief from removal, ICE is unable to effectuate the removal,” the note said.
According to the agency, around 55% of those final orders are executable due to the above factors. That is also a fluid number, because factors in a case can change.
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It also noted that a number of countries will not accept flights of nationals being returned. Currently, it labels 15 countries as “uncooperative”: Bhutan, Burma, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Laos, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Russia, Somalia and Venezuela.
Meanwhile, it considers an additional 11 countries to be at risk of non-compliance: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Gabon, Gambia, Iraq, Jamaica, Nicaragua, South Sudan, St. Lucia and Vietnam.
House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green on Wednesday accused the Biden administration of having “hamstrung” ICE’s ability to detain and remove illegal immigrants.
“These devastating numbers are yet more incontrovertible proof of this reality, and should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers. It is absolutely critical that Congress fully support the incoming Trump administration’s efforts to undo this damage and once again enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders,” he said in a statement to Fox.
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The numbers offer a glimpse into the variety of challenges that the incoming Trump administration faces as it seeks to establish a historic mass deportation operation after it takes office in January. Border czar Tom Homan told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that public safety threats will be the priority, but officials have also said that no illegal immigrant is off the table when it comes to deportation.
The administration also faces challenges in international diplomacy and dealing with countries refusing to take back their illegal immigrants. The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it has conducted another removal flight to China, marking the fourth flight in less than six months to the communist nation.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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