DHS Report Shows Low Enforcement Rate on Alien Overstays

Source: This report is based on an official public release from U.S. Department of Homeland Security. PULSE organizes and summarizes public government communications.

A DHS Office of the Inspector General report reveals enforcement gaps in how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement handled cases of aliens who illegally overstayed their authorized periods in the country from fiscal years 2021 through 2024.

ICE received 3,145,375 leads about possible alien overstays. Of those, 104,049—approximately 3.3 percent—were categorized as potential national security or public safety concerns. However, only 496 investigations were launched on the security threat leads, resulting in 8 arrests.

The remaining 3,041,326 leads (96.7 percent) were marked as "Non-Priority." Of the 2,837,188 Non-Priority leads sent to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, only 5 were investigated after being identified as possible public safety threats, resulting in 2 arrests.

The findings were released by the DHS Office of the Inspector General.