In DHS/ICE usage the phrase “criminal illegal alien” is an agency shorthand for a non‑U.S. national (an “alien” under the Immigration and Nationality Act) who ICE says is present without lawful authorization and has one or more criminal convictions. It is an operational label, not a precise single statutory term—federal law uses categories like “alien,” “inadmissible,” and specific criminal‑grounds for removal (e.g., aggravated felonies); ICE’s Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is the programmatic vehicle that identifies and targets such individuals.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is tasked with identifying, arresting, detaining and removing noncitizens who are removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Prior criminal convictions commonly create statutory grounds for removal (e.g., crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled‑substance offenses, aggravated felonies) and can make an individual a priority for arrest and detention; convictions also affect eligibility for relief from removal and can lead to mandatory detention or expedited removal in some cases.
WOW.DHS.gov (“Worst of the Worst”) posts identifying details ICE/DHS choose to make public about arrests — typically the noncitizen’s name, country of origin, listed conviction(s), and arrest location, and often a booking/photograph — and links to press releases. DHS publishes individual news releases and adds items to the WOW aggregation; DHS does not state a fixed refresh schedule on the site, but DOJ/DHS press releases and the WOW aggregation are updated whenever DHS issues a new release or summary (DHS has posted multiple WOW updates in recent weeks).
“Sanctuary city” policies generally refer to state or local limits on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement (examples include refusing to honor ICE detainers or not proactively sharing release dates). DHS’s statement is referring to those policies’ effect on information‑sharing—e.g., when a local jail won’t notify ICE of an arrestee’s release or won’t provide criminal booking/transfer data—making it harder for ICE to identify and take custody of removable noncitizens.
No — the DHS release you provided highlights several named arrests from “yesterday” but does not provide a total count for all arrests that day or a broader recent total; the release points readers to WOW.DHS.gov for additional individual records rather than posting an overall numeric tally.
Public verification typically requires consulting primary public court records or local law‑enforcement arrest/booking records for the relevant jurisdiction. That means: 1) search state or county court dockets (criminal case filings and judgments); 2) check local sheriff/prison booking or arrest databases and prosecutor press statements; 3) for federal convictions use PACER (federal dockets) or the U.S. Attorney’s office. DHS/ICE press releases are secondary sources and should be checked against those court records to confirm convictions and charge details.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin is the Assistant Secretary for Counter‑Terrorism and Threat Prevention at DHS (she appears in DHS media statements about law enforcement actions); the quote in the release attributes the statement to her in her DHS leadership role. (DHS press releases list component titles for quoted officials.)