Fact Sheet - President Donald J. Trump Stands with the Brave Heroes who Enforce our Immigration Laws and Secure our Borders

STANDING WITH ICE AND CBP: President Donald J. Trump resolutely supports the brave heroes of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

• President Trump is holding an event today to salute the brave heroes of ICE and CBP.
• President Trump has made clear that he will stand with these men and women and oppose any effort to undermine the work they do to enforce our laws and secure our borders.
• Calls to abolish ICE are a grave betrayal of these law enforcement officers and the noble sacrifices they make to uphold our laws, secure our borders, and protect our safety.

ENFORCING OUR LAWS AND SECURING OUR BORDERS: ICE and CBP work tirelessly to uphold the rule of law by enforcing our immigration laws and securing our borders.

• ICE and CBP are responsible for enforcing our immigration laws and securing our borders, without which we would have no borders, no nation, and utter anarchy.
• Abolishing ICE would effectively open our borders and nullify our immigration laws, as even those apprehended for illegally crossing our border could not be removed.
• Without ICE, anyone who illegally crosses our border, is released from detention, or overstays their visa would be able to remain in the United States indefinitely without removal.
  • ICE removed 226,119 illegal aliens during fiscal year (FY) 2017.
  • ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) made 143,470 administrative arrests in FY 2017.
  • There were nearly 629,000 visa overstays in the United States in FY 2016.

PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITIES: ICE and CBP help prevent criminal illegal aliens, gang members, and deadly drugs from being able to flood into and remain in our communities.

• ICE and CBP play a vital role in protecting our safety by combatting the flow of criminal aliens, gang members, and deadly drugs across our borders and into our communities.
• Abolishing ICE would endanger the safety of all Americans and prevent the removal of criminal aliens, including members of the murderous, bloodthirsty MS-13 gang.
  • ICE-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made 4,818 gang arrests in FY 2017, including nearly 800 arrests related to MS-13.
  • In FY 2017, ICE ERO removed 5,396 suspected gang members from the United States.
• In FY 2017, ICE ERO arrested more than 127,000 criminal aliens, who were responsible for:
  • More than 76,000 dangerous drug offenses;
  • More than 48,000 assault offenses;
  • More than 5,000 sexual assault offenses;
  • More than 1,800 homicide offenses.
• ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests and seized 981,586 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017.
  • ICE HSI is at the forefront of the war on opioids, seizing 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin in FY 2017.
• Those calling to abolish ICE should justify their position to the 518 human trafficking victims and 904 child exploitation victims rescued or identified by ICE HSI in FY 2017 alone.