In February 2021, conservative blogs and online publications reported that President Biden had canceled “Operation Talon”, an operation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove sex offenders living illegally in the United States. Media reported that 18 Republican state attorneys general around the country wrote a letter to Biden expressing concern at this, and had cited a Washington Post article as evidence.
The claims and the subsequent response from state AGs are false/misleading on at least two counts:
•First, the decision to halt Operation Talon was not made by President Biden or anyone in the White House. According to the Washington Post article at the core of this story, “a senior ICE official said the Biden administration had nothing to do with that decision.” Career officials at ICE most likely halted the planned operation themselves to await further instructions from the new administration.
•Secondly, ICE has not halted investigations and deportation actions against sex offenders. According to the Post article, “Homeland Security Investigations, a separate wing of ICE that conducts criminal investigations, has continued investigating sex offenses involving U.S. citizens and noncitizens.” Furthermore, a search of ICE’s website reveals that the agency has continued to prosecute sex offenders during the first weeks of the Biden administration.
***Fact Check Rating: False/Misleading***
Sources
https://www.wjtv.com/news/state/ag-fitch-urges-biden-to-reverse-cancellation-of-operation-talon/
https://www.ice.gov/newsroom?field_news_release_topics_tag_tid=356&page=1
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