More than 1,000 illegal immigrants released under federal “prosecutorial discretion” went on to commit a string of new crimes across the United States, according to Department of Homeland Security records. And that was in just one year.

The 38-page DHS report lists the new convictions for fiscal 2013, the latest year for which statistics were available. They include:

• Assault with a deadly weapon
• Terroristic threats
• Failure to register as a sex offender
• Lewd acts with a child under 14
• Aggravated assault
• Robbery
• Hit-and-run
• Criminal street gang
• Rape spouse by force
• Child cruelty: possible injury/death

“The Obama administration claims it is using ‘prosecutorial discretion’ to prioritize the removal of criminal aliens from this country. But this report shows the disturbing truth: 1,000 undocumented aliens previously convicted of crimes, and released by the administration in 2013, have gone on to commit further crimes in our communities,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, vowed: “I will continue my work to ensure our immigration officials are doing what it takes to take criminal aliens off our streets and out of our country.”

Officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have complained about lack of bed space to house criminal immigrants. According to a Government Accountability Office report, the cost of detaining criminal aliens from 2005 to 2009 was estimated at $1.6 billion annually.

“Given the increase in undocumented immigrants, the current costs may be higher,” Judiciary Committee press secretary Taylor Foy said. “That also does not take into account the cost of releasing criminal aliens into supervised release programs.”

Instead of deporting criminal immigrants, Justice Department attorneys have turned them loose under the Obama administration’s controversial policy of prosecutorial discretion.

The resulting public endangerment and strain on local law-enforcement agencies sparked an outcry from immigration-enforcement groups Monday.

Jessica Vaughn, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Watchdog, “This report confirms what many of us feared, and what ICE officers know, namely that policies that lead to the release of criminal aliens back into our communities undermines public safety and is creating needless new victims.”

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Kenric Ward

Kenric Ward is a seasoned journalist with experience as a daily newspaper reporter, newsroom editor and online political writer. Kenric has worked at two Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers and numerous state and national awards for investigative articles ranging from business to education to politics.

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