U.S. SENATE — On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) released the following statement after securing an additional $350 million in the reconciliation bill text to give U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dedicated resources to arrest unlawful illegal aliens released from local custody after jurisdictions refuse to honor ICE detainers, provide release notice, or coordinate safe jail-to-ICE transfers.
“In 2025 alone, 17,864 aliens were released from local custody instead of being transferred to ICE. That is insane. These are not hard cases. They were already in jail. ICE had already identified them,” said Senator Schmitt.
“My provision fixes that. If a jurisdiction refuses to hand these unlawful aliens over to ICE at the jailhouse door, ICE will have the resources to be waiting outside. Arrest them when they walk out. Protect Americans from preventable crime,” Schmitt continued.
The Schmitt-authored Fund provides dedicated ICE resources for detainer management, release monitoring, custodial transfer, transportation, arrests, and detention connected to criminal aliens released from local custody.
“This is about commonsense immigration enforcement in America. Unlawful aliens. Already in custody. Released instead of transferred to ICE. Democrats claim they support targeting the worst of the worst. Now they have no excuse,” Schmitt concluded.