The watchdog attributed the lack of enforcement to a September 2021 policy memo from Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that restricted resources to specific threats. Customs and Border Protection records show visa overstays jumped 364% in FY2022 to 795,167, up from 171,269 in FY2021. DHS officials called the enforcement gap a "dereliction of duty," citing unarrested overstays who subsequently committed violent crimes, including a stabbing at a Burger King and an aggravated kidnapping.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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ICE Arrests Only 8 of 104,000 High Risk Visa Overstay Leads
US Politics14 days ago
The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general found that immigration officials ignored a vast majority of alerts regarding foreigners who remained in the U.S. illegally after their visas expired. Between FY21 and FY24, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made only eight arrests from roughly 104,000 leads that were flagged for public safety or national security concerns. Out of 3.1 million total overstay leads, ICE conducted 496 investigations for the high risk pool, while 2.8 million non-priority leads resulted in just five investigations and two arrests.
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