REP. NANCY MACE SLAMS SANCTUARY SHERIFF KRISTIN GRAZIANO AS NEW DATA SHOWS THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS WITH SEX OFFENSES ROAMING FREE

(Washington DC, October 8th, 2024) - Congresswoman Nancy Mace is calling on Sheriff Kristin Graziano to publicly explain each of the 51 ICE detainer requests her office has ignored and to provide a detailed, written plan on how she intends to prevent future releases of non-citizen criminals into Charleston County.

Rep. Mace has already demanded the Sheriff's office hand over all internal and external communications between the Charleston County Sheriff's Office and ICE including documents related to ICE detainer requests, illegal aliens apprehended by the Sheriff's Office, and the termination of the 287(g) agreement. The deadline for submitting these documents is October 15, 2024.

According to recent data from ICE, as of July 21, 2024, more than 12,000 noncitizens with convictions or pending charges for sex offenses-excluding assault or commercialized sex-are not in custody. Even more troubling, over 20,000 noncitizens charged with or convicted of sexual assault are walking free. Additionally, a staggering 14,945 noncitizens have been charged with or convicted of murder and are not in custody. In total, ICE's non-detained docket includes 662,566 criminal aliens, freely roaming the streets of our communities.

Sanctuary Sheriff Graziano has ignored at least 51 ICE detainer requests, endangering South Carolinians by allowing criminal aliens to roam free in the Lowcountry.

"These numbers are terrifying. We have tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens, some of them convicted sexual predators, free to walk our streets,"Rep. Nancy Mace said."And why? Because people like Sheriff Graziano have prioritized sanctuary policies over the safety of our communities. Charleston County is in grave danger from this leadership. We need law enforcement to work with ICE, not against them."

"Every day we delay is another day criminals are allowed to terrorize our neighborhoods."

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