ICE predicted 50% drop in illegal immigrant arrests under new DHS guidance, email shows

FIRST ON FOX: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) predicted in January that there would be a 50% reduction of arrests of illegal immigrants if new guidance that severely limits ICE arrests was enforced -- a prediction that ultimately proved to be accurate, as arrests plunged a month later.

In February, ICE issued its own version of that guidance, with the same narrowed priorities and alo requiring ICE agents to seek preapproval from a superior if they wanted to arrest an illegal immigrant who did not meet that criteria. However, in calculating what that policy would mean for the agency, a Jan. 27 email by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations’ acting executive associate director warned that the department ran data based on the new DHS guidance, and predicted that "book-ins" would plunge.