DHS Secretary grilled on release of immigrants convicted of crimes

In his first time appearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was grilled Thursday over the release of tens of thousands of immigrants who were convicted of crimes and were facing deportation.

Federal documents published earlier this month showed that 36,000 immigrants who were in deportation proceedings were released from custody last year. Among them were immigrants convicted of violent and serious crimes, including 193 homicide convictions, 303 kidnapping convictions and 426 sexual assault convictions.

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Johnson told committee members he has asked for a “deeper understanding” of the issue.

“Many of these releases were directed by immigration judges or pursuant to legal requirements, and/or with conditions of supervision intended to ensure their monitoring and appearance,” he said in his opening statement. “Nevertheless, I intend to work with ICE leadership to determine whether we are doing everything we can to maximize public safety.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), a vocal critic of the Obama administration’s handling of immigration enforcement, asked Johnson to follow up on a letter he sent DHS last week. In the letter, Goodlatte requested information on the released immigrants to determine what new crimes, if any, they’ve gone on to commit.

Goodlatte also said the release of the immigrants, coupled with other practices by DHS, have resulted in Americans losing confidence in the Obama administration’s “willingness to enforce our current immigration laws or use any enhanced enforcement tools that Congress may give it.”

“This in turn has made it exceedingly difficult for Congress to fix our broken immigration system,” he said.

Secure Communities isn’t going away

Furthermore, Goodlatte also said Johnson’s recent comments that he is considering scaling back the Secure Communities program is causing him “grave concern for the future of immigration enforcement.”

The federal program allows local police and immigration officials to share fingerprints data of individuals who are arrested or booked into custody in order to identify undocumented immigrants. It was first implemented in 2008 under President George W. Bush and has been expanded under President Barack Obama.

SEE ALSO: At odds on Secure Communities

Johnson addressed Goodlatte’s concerns on Thursday, saying he is not looking to get rid of Secure Communities altogether. Instead, he said he wants to get a “fresh look.”

“I want a fresh start to this program, and I want a fresh conversation with mayors and governors around the country to make this program work more effectively,” he said.

Johnson added that he considers Secure Communities to be “an important program.” However, he said the program has “gotten off of to bad messaging, misunderstanding in state and local communities about exactly what it is.”

Immigration advocates argue that the program leads to racial profiling and damages the trust between local law enforcement and the immigrant community. Meanwhile, supporters of Secure Communities say it is of the most successful programs to identify and remove undocumented immigrants.

Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing came several days after Obama directed Jonhson to hold off on completing a review of the administration’s deportation policies until the end of the summer. The move infuriated many advocates who’ve been calling on Obama to provide relief from deportations as the Republican-controlled House stalls on immigration reform.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), a longtime advocate of immigration reform, said during Thursday’s hearing that he was “disappointed” and “saddened” to hear about Obama’s postponement of the DHS deportation review. He also said it is a “grand gesture” for Obama to hold off on the review in order to give House Republicans time to come up with immigration reform legislation this summer.

Gutierrez didn’t ask Johnson any questions. Instead, he called on his Republican colleagues to move on immigration reform legislation that includes “law and order” as well as “justice and compassion.”

SEE ALSO: Most House members get a failing grade on immigration score card