Illinois Cuts Loose Criminal Illegals, ICE Says Public Safety on the Line

This is a dangerous game, Illinois is playing.

According to a Fox News report, Federal immigration officials say Illinois is releasing violent criminal illegal aliens despite active detainers, a move that is putting innocent Americans in the crosshairs.

In a scorching letter shared with Fox News Digital, ICE acting director Todd Lyons said Illinois currently holds “tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens,” including offenders accused or convicted of murder, rape, child pornography, armed robbery, and other violent crimes. Lyons said these individuals “should be swiftly removed from the United States … and not be returned to our streets to wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens.”

But the numbers tell a grim story.

According to ICE, Illinois has already released 1,768 criminal aliens with active detainers since January 2025 — criminals tied to homicides, assaults, burglaries, weapons charges, and sexual-predatory offenses.

And it doesn’t stop there. Another 4,015 criminal aliens with pending detainers remain in state or local custody, including suspects linked to 51 homicides and more than 800 sexual-predatory crimes.

ICE even provided a chilling list of offenders who walked free without the required notice to federal authorities. Among them: Victor Manuel Mendoza-Garcia — convicted of three counts of aggravated kidnapping;  Juan Morales Martinez — tied to a fatal vehicle crash; Amilcar Waldo Gonzalez-Jimenez — convicted of two counts of criminal sexual assault.

In each case, ICE says local agencies failed to notify federal officers before turning these offenders loose.

Other cases cited by ICE involve convicts in child abduction, predatory sexual assault of a child, attempted murder, and aggravated kidnapping.

🚨FIRST ON LOTT: ICE just sent a letter to Sanctuary State Illinois’ AG DEMANDING they hand over the more than 4,000 illegals in their custody.

Illinois has RELEASED more than 1,700 criminal illegals from prison back into our communities.

Here are some of the worst of the… pic.twitter.com/VPoXTMfeG0

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 8, 2025