Evidence is incomplete or still developing; a future update may resolve it. Learn more in Methodology.
Verify records showing 4,561 individuals with ICE detainers were released by California jurisdictions since January 20, 2025, and confirm the listed counts of offense types attributable to those releases.
The DHS press release and ICE statements assert that since Jan 20, 2025, 4,561 people in California with ICE detainers were released without ICE being notified and list specific counts of alleged crimes; these figures appear in DHS/ICE materials but are contested by California officials and independent reporting notes discrepancies in how ‘released’ and ‘detainers not honored’ are defined. California officials and media reporting say the federal count conflates different categories (e.g., people released after criminal sentences, those transferred to ICE custody, preexisting data on convictions) and that DHS/ICE have not provided underlying case-level data to verify each alleged offense. Because the only sources for the exact counts are DHS/ICE public statements (which are disputed and lack primary supporting datasets) and California disputes the methodology, the claim cannot be verified as accurate as stated.