Alien Incarceration Report 

Fiscal Year 2018, Quarter 2 

April 16, 2019 

 
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Alien Incarceration Report 

Fiscal Year 2018, Quarter 2 

April 16, 2019

On January 25, 2017, the President signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13768 on Enhancing Public 

Safety in the Interior of the United States. 

Section 16 of the E.O. directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. 

Department of Justice (DOJ) to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on: (a) the 

immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of 

Prisons (BOP); (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees 

under the supervision of the United States Marshals Service (USMS); and (c) the immigration 

status of all convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers throughout 

the United States. 

This report includes data on known or suspected aliens under the custody of BOP or USMS, and 

limited data regarding the immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and 

local detention centers throughout the United States. Future reports will also provide additional 

information regarding the immigration status of aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local 

detention centers. 

Summary of Findings 

A total of 59,945 known or suspected aliens were in DOJ custody for a range of offenses at the 

end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) (see Figure 1). Of those, 36,235 were 

confirmed aliens with orders of removal or who had agreed to depart voluntarily, 16,426 were 

still under investigation by ICE to determine alienage, 4,903 were aliens who were illegally 

present and undergoing removal proceedings, and 1,281 were legally present and undergoing 

removal proceedings. A total of 1,100 aliens in DOJ custody had been granted relief or 

protection from removal. 
2 

Figure 1: Immigration Status of Known or Suspected Aliens in DOJ Custody, FY18 Q2 

 

 Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

This report also includes the available data regarding alien populations in state and local 

facilities, including aggregate data collected by DOJ, data reported directly to the public by state 

authorities, and other information made available through public reporting. The lack of 

comprehensive data on this topic is a noteworthy limitation of this report, because state and local 

facilities account for approximately 90 percent of the total U.S. incarcerated population. DOJ and 

DHS are continuing to develop and establish methods to collect, estimate, and analyze accurate 

data regarding the impact of aliens on public safety and the criminal justice system at the state 

and local levels. This section of the report will continue to expand as these methodologies and 

procedures are improved or more information becomes available. 

Process 

Pursuant to E.O. 13768, USMS and BOP provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE) with data on a quarterly basis regarding inmates and detainees identified as foreign-born 

during their criminal case process.1 In turn, ICE checks USMS and BOP data against its ICE 

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) case management system, the ENFORCE Alien 

 

1

 Total counts in BOP and USMS custody reflect the populations on reported dates and are not quarterly or yearly 

totals. 
3 

Removal Module (EARM), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Central Index 

System to identify aliens with immigration records and pending or completed removal 

proceedings. 

This approach allows ICE to place each known or suspected alien within one of the following 

five categories: 

 Under Investigation: Further investigation by ICE is required to confirm alien status and 

establish potential removability. 

 Under Adjudication – Legal: The person is lawfully present in the United States but has 

been charged as a removable alien; removal proceedings are ongoing. 

 Under Adjudication – Illegal: The person is unlawfully present2

 in the United States and 

has been charged as a removable alien; removal proceedings are ongoing. 

 Ordered Removed: The person is an alien who has been issued a final order of removal or 

has agreed to depart voluntarily, and therefore has no lawful status. 

 Relief/Benefit: The person is an alien who has been granted relief or protection from 

removal that would generally be considered lawful status. However, depending on the 

nature of the inmate’s criminal offense, his or her status may be subject to review and 

rescission or revocation by DHS or an immigration judge. 

Once ICE checks the USMS and BOP data, it returns its findings to USMS and BOP. That data 

is then utilized by USMS and BOP to generate statistics relevant to E.O. 13768, including the 

primary offenses committed, costs of incarceration, and other factors affecting public safety and 

the criminal justice system. USMS and BOP are continuing to develop their process to allow for 

more robust reporting of information related to E.O. 13768. 

Immigration Status of and Offenses Committed by Known or Suspected 

Aliens in BOP Custody 

A. Immigration Status of Known or Suspected Aliens in BOP Custody 

As of March 31, 2018, 38,391 known or suspected aliens were in BOP custody (approximately 

21 percent of the 183,291 total individuals in BOP custody on that date). More than half of the 

38,391 known or suspected aliens (approximately 64 percent) were confirmed not to have lawful 

immigration status in the United States, including 21,170 (55 percent of the total number of 

known or suspected aliens in BOP custody) who had been ordered removed, and 3,316 (nearly 

nine percent) who were unlawfully present and in removal proceedings. Nearly three percent of 

the known or suspected aliens in BOP custody (1,007 individuals) were lawfully present and in 

 

2

 “Unlawful presence” includes those circumstances where an “alien is present in the United States after the 

expiration of the period of stay authorized ... or is present in the United States without being admitted or paroled.” 

8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(9)(B)(ii). 
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removal proceedings, and 855 aliens (approximately two percent) had received an immigration 

benefit or relief or protection from removal (see Figure 2). 

DOJ and DHS expect the proportion of aliens remaining in the “under investigation” status to 

continue to decline over time. As of March 2018, only 31 percent (12,043) of the known or 

suspected aliens were under investigation, approximately the same percentage as in the first 

quarter of FY18, and down from the third and fourth quarters of FY17 (50 percent and 38 

percent, respectively). 

Figure 2: Known or Suspected Aliens in BOP Custody, FY18 Q2 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

B. Primary Offenses Committed by Known or Suspected Aliens in BOP Custody 

Approximately 46 percent (17,540) of the known or suspected aliens in BOP custody committed 

drug trafficking or other drug-related offenses (such as conspiracy to commit drug trafficking 

offenses, or smuggling large amounts of drugs on the high seas) as their primary offense, making 

it the most common type of offense (see Figure 3). Of the 17,540 known or suspected aliens in 

BOP custody with a drug offense as their primary offense, 17,354 (approximately 99 percent) 

were convicted of drug trafficking or other drug trafficking-related crimes. Only 186 

(approximately one percent of the known or suspected aliens with a drug offense as their primary 

offense) had a primary offense of simple possession—and many of these were traffickers who 
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were caught with significant amounts of drugs but were convicted of lesser offenses as a result of 

circumstances such as plea bargains.3

Approximately 28 percent (10,693) of the known or suspected aliens in BOP custody had 

committed immigration offenses (such as human trafficking or illegal reentry after deportation) 

as their primary offense. The third-largest category (approximately nine percent, or 3,582 

individuals) of known or suspected aliens in BOP custody were individuals awaiting trial. Drug 

trafficking-related and immigration offenses were the most common primary charges associated 

with those in the pre-trial category. 

Of the known or suspected aliens in BOP custody, approximately five percent (1,737) had 

committed fraud as their primary offense. Another four percent (1,480) committed weapons 

offenses (including firearms offenses). Racketeering and continuing criminal enterprise offenses 

(including murder for hire) were the primary offenses committed by approximately 3 percent 

(1,194), and obscene materials offenses (such as the production or distribution of child 

pornography) and other sex offenses were the primary offenses committed by approximately 2 

percent (820). Other primary offenses committed by smaller numbers of known or suspected 

aliens in BOP custody included kidnapping, murder, larceny, terrorism, escape, bribery and 

extortion, rape, and other offenses—aside from terrorism-related offenses, many of these types 

of offenses are typically prosecuted at the state and local level. 

Future reports will also include information regarding costs associated with incarcerating aliens 

in BOP custody. 

 

3

 The proportion of drug offenders sentenced for drug trafficking is generally consistent throughout the entire federal 

prison population. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “[m]ore than 99% of federal drug offenders are 

sentenced for trafficking.” See Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2016 (Jan. 2018), 

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p16.pdf. 
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Figure 3: Primary Offenses Committed by Known or Suspected 

Aliens in BOP Custody, FY18 Q2 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

C. Examples of Newly Sentenced or Incarcerated Aliens in BOP Custody 

The following are examples of aliens who were recently sentenced or incarcerated for federal 

offenses. 

 Yovanny Aroldo Mendivil-Balderama (W.D. Mo.), 23, a Mexican national who resided 

in Missouri, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison, after he pled guilty to 

participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene, Dallas, Webster 

and Christian counties in Missouri, from April 2015 through April 2016. He also pled 

guilty to using a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, resulting in the 

murder of Oscar Adan Martinez-Gaxiola on April 25, 2016. 

According to court documents, Mendivil-Balderama and Martinez-Gaxiola obtained large 

amounts of methamphetamine from either Arizona or Mexico and transported it to 

Missouri. They supplied methamphetamine to co-defendant Brooke Danielle Beckley, 

21, of Nixa, Missouri, for distribution in the Springfield area. On April 6, 2016, law 

enforcement officers seized from Beckley’s hotel room approximately 1.9 kilograms of 

methamphetamine, a loaded 20-gauge shotgun with a sawed off barrel and stock, four 

rounds of additional shotgun ammunition, a .22-caliber pistol, a drug ledger, and $3,663. 

The seizure of the 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine created a $44,000 debt that 
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Beckley owed to both Mendivil-Balderama and Martinez-Gaxiola. Text messages 

between Mendivil-Balderama and Beckley later established that they both wanted to kill 

Martinez-Gaxiola as a way to reduce, or extend, the debt, and to prevent MartinezGaxiola from possibly killing Beckley. Beckley recruited other co-defendants to carry 

out the murder. 

On April 25, 2016, Mendivil-Balderama traveled with Martinez-Gaxiola to a codefendant’s residence on the pretext that Beckley would pay the drug debt. Beckley and 

the other co-defendants were waiting at the residence. Upon arrival, Mendivil-Balderama 

got out of the vehicle first. When Martinez-Gaxiola exited the vehicle, the other codefendants opened fire, expending 30 to 60 rounds of ammunition, and Martinez-Gaxiola 

fell to the ground. One of the co-defendants then went up to where Martinez-Gaxiola lay 

and shot him once in the head. Martinez-Gaxiola was later found to have been armed 

with a handgun but did not discharge it during his murder. Neighbors reported the shots 

fired. As police responded to the area, the defendants attempted to conceal MartinezGaxiola’s body by hiding him under a piece of tin siding. They all then fled. Officers 

found Martinez-Gaxiola alive but he died before they could transport him to the hospital. 

 Sergio Chavez-Verduzco and his son, Sergio Chavez-Macias (D. Idaho), both Mexican 

nationals living in Burley, Idaho, were sentenced to 420 months and 144 months in prison 

after a jury convicted them of conspiracy related to drug trafficking. Chavez-Verduzco 

was also sentenced for his participation in a continuing criminal enterprise. Evidence 

presented during the trial showed that from 2015 and early 2016, Chavez-Verduzco and 

Chavez-Macias were the source of supply for multiple large-scale methamphetamine 

traffickers in the Treasure Valley of Idaho. The evidence specifically identified certain 

methamphetamine traffickers whom the father and son supplied with hundreds of pounds 

of methamphetamine. 

 Ramiro Hermosillo-Salazar (N.D. Ga.), a Mexican national residing in Palmetto, 

Georgia, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pled guilty to conspiracy and 

possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of 

methamphetamine with intent to distribute on premises where minor children resided, and 

possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. As presented in court, 

following a multi-month DEA investigation, agents identified Hermosillo-Salazar as a 

likely member of a methamphetamine trafficking organization. 

On June 15, 2017, DEA agents, aided by the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. 

team, executed a federal search warrant at Hermosillo’s residence in Palmetto. Law 

enforcement encountered the defendant in his residence and arrested him. They 

discovered that Hermosillo was also living with his three minor children, ages 5, 8, and 9. 

During the search, agents discovered a methamphetamine “superlab” in a separate 

building several yards from the house. The lab contained approximately 300 pounds of 

highly pure crystal methamphetamine, as well as several gallons of liquid 
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methamphetamine that, if converted to its crystal form, would have yielded an additional 

100 pounds of the drug. Inside the residence, agents found a second, smaller 

methamphetamine lab in a room next to the kitchen. They also found several more 

kilograms of methamphetamine and over $12,000. Hermosillo had placed three loaded 

rifles at points throughout the home, one of which was equipped with a high-capacity 

magazine. Hermosillo also had a bulletproof vest. A video-surveillance system revealed 

that Hermosillo had been operating the “superlab” for at least several months. 

Hermosillo was ordered to pay restitution to the government for the cost of dismantling 

the superlab. Following his term of imprisonment, Hermosillo will be deported from the 

United States. 

 

 Bryan Galicia Barillas (D. Mass.), aka “Chucky,” a Guatemalan national who resided in

Chelsea, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 22 years in prison after he pled guilty to 

conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more 

commonly referred to as a RICO conspiracy. The racketeering activity by Galicia 

Barillas, a member of MS-13’s Enfermos Criminales Salvatrucha (ECS) clique, included 

his involvement in the death of an innocent bystander in Chelsea. On October 18, 2014, 

Galicia Barillas and Hector Ramires, another member of the ECS clique, encountered a 

group of individuals in Chelsea suspected of belonging to a rival gang. Ramires, who 

was armed with a weapon that Galicia Barillas had provided on an earlier occasion, shot 

at one of the suspected gang rivals and missed, killing an innocent bystander who was 

looking out a nearby window of a room she shared with her three children. Galicia 

Barillas was a juvenile at the time of the murder. Galicia Barillas also accepted 

responsibility for his role in a September 8, 2014 stabbing and attempted murder of an 

individual in Chelsea, which Galicia Barillas also committed when he was a juvenile. 

Shortly after he turned 18, Galicia Barillas was involved in an April 2015 conspiracy to 

kill an MS-13 member that the gang believed was cooperating with law enforcement, and 

a May 26, 2015 stabbing and attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member in 

Chelsea. For his part, Ramires pled guilty in October 2017, to a RICO conspiracy 

involving murder and was sentenced in April 2018 to 27 years in prison. 

 Alfonso Rios-Ayon (E.D. Ca.), 44, a Mexican national who resided in Pixley, California, 

was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he pled guilty to conspiracy to possess 

methamphetamine with intent to distribute it. According to court documents, between 

March 1, 2016 and June 29, 2016, Rios-Ayon conspired with others to distribute 

methamphetamine to various drug dealers and users in Kern County, California and 

elsewhere. On June 29, 2016, law enforcement conducted a controlled purchase of 

approximately 30 pounds of crystal methamphetamine at a ranch where Rios-Ayon lived. 

A search of the residence later resulted in the seizure of 30 pounds of crystal 

methamphetamine, three firearms, multiple magazines and ammunition, and 

approximately $16,850. 
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 Felipe Benitez Aguilar (S.D. Fla.), 44, a Mexican national who resided in West Palm 

Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he pled guilty to possession with 

intent to distribute cocaine, felon in possession of a firearm, and alien in possession of a 

firearm. According to court documents, Aguilar was found in possession of over 30 

kilogram-sized packages of cocaine, an UZI rifle, a revolver, and multiple rounds of 

ammunition. Aguilar had previously been removed from the United States in February 

2004, and again in July 2012. Aguilar’s July 2012 removal followed his 37-month 

federal sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of 

cocaine. 

 Marisol Carmona Arreola Avalos (N.D. Tex.), a Mexican national who resided in 

Wilmer, Texas, was sentenced to 216 months in prison after she pled guilty to conspiracy 

to launder monetary instruments. According to the plea agreement, from September 25, 

2015 through March 18, 2016, Marisol Avalos, and her husband, Jose Apolinar Arreola 

Avalos, cooked and cleaned methamphetamine in order to make the methamphetamine as 

white and clean as possible to maximize profits. The methamphetamine was obtained 

from Mexico. Marisol Avalos was provided with drug proceeds to purchase acetone, 

strainers, and materials to store the methamphetamine so that, once it was cleaned, it 

could be sold to other people in Texas and other parts of the United States. Marisol 

Avalos used some of the drug proceeds to pay phone bills, propane gas bills, and electric 

bills. The gas and electric bills were paid to maintain the house and area where the 

methamphetamine was cooked. The phone bill was paid so that she and Jose Avalos 

could communicate with other co-defendants and drug couriers who were dropping off 

the liquid methamphetamine to be cleaned. On March 18, 2016, the Dallas Police 

Department executed a search warrant at the Avalos’ residence. Agents seized 

approximately 172 kilograms of a combination of crystal and liquid methamphetamine, 

firearms and several thousands of dollars. 

 Rosendo Flores Angulo (D. N.M.), 40, a Mexican national who resided in New Mexico, 

was sentenced to 210 months in prison after he pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 

heroin. As part of the plea agreement, Angulo admitted that he was a mid-level drug 

dealer who distributed heroin to low-level drug dealers and heroin users in Albuquerque 

in 2014 and 2015. Angulo admitted that he supplied Curtis Hutchinson, a low-level drug 

dealer, with heroin on April 29, 2015, and acknowledged learning that Hutchinson sold 

some of the heroin to a young man, who collapsed and died after using the heroin. A 

medical toxicologist concluded that the heroin was the cause of the young man’s death. 

The case was initiated after Angulo was charged with heroin trafficking charges based on 

a number of heroin sales to two undercover DEA agents in Bernalillo and Sandoval 

Counties, New Mexico, between July 2015 and September 2015. Additional charges 

were later added which included the charge of distribution of heroin to a person who died 

as a result of using that heroin. 
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 Ignacio Montes Leon (W.D. Pa.), 37, a Mexican national who resided in Erie, 

Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pled guilty to conspiracy to 

distribute between 50 to 150 kilograms of cocaine and more than 100 grams of 99% pure 

methamphetamine. Montes Leon was extradited from Mexico for prosecution. 

According to information provided to the court, Montes Leon was the local leader of a 

drug trafficking organization involved in importing cocaine and methamphetamine from 

Mexico into Texas, which was then transported to Erie, Pennsylvania and elsewhere in 

hidden compartments in vehicles. Montes Leon was responsible for coordinating the 

drug shipments with higher-level conspirators in Texas, was directly selling pure 

methamphetamine to individuals in Erie on multiple occasions, and was responsible for 

distributing multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine at a time to his co-conspirators. In 

December 2013, law enforcement officers seized four kilograms of cocaine in Erie, 

Pennsylvania connected to Montes Leon. On November 1, 2014, after Montes Leon 

traveled to Texas to coordinate another drug shipment, two of his drug couriers were 

transporting the cocaine when they were stopped by the Arkansas State Police. Montes 

Leon arranged for those couriers to travel to Houston, Texas area to pick up a load of 

cocaine destined for delivery to Erie and elsewhere. A search warrant was then executed 

on the vehicle and the individually-wrapped packages of cocaine were located in a hidden 

compartment. The packages contained more than five kilograms of cocaine. Montes 

Leon then fled to Mexico. Law enforcement officers located Montes Leon in Mexico, 

and he was arrested and extradited back to the United States to face prosecution. 

 Misraim Israel Briones Pasos, aka Mario Ozuna (D. Ore.), 36, a Mexican national who 

resided in the Portland, Oregon area, was sentenced to 151 months for his role in a vast 

conspiracy responsible for trafficking hundreds of pounds of black tar heroin from 

Nayarit, Mexico to the Portland metropolitan area. According to court documents, 

investigators first learned of the conspiracy when a confidential informant provided a tip 

that co-defendant Cory Jacques was selling heroin and oxycodone from his residence in 

southwest Portland. Using controlled buys, surveillance, and phone records analysis, 

investigators determined that Jaques was receiving heroin from Briones Pasos and 

another co-defendant Melchor Luna Rodriguez. A federal wiretap investigation was 

opened in the fall of 2014. Investigators later learned that Briones Pasos managed one of 

several heroin cells in the Portland area sourced by a single Nayarit-based supplier. The 

supply cell, managed by co-defendants Christopher Guillen Robles and Paul Guillen, was 

responsible for bringing as much as 10 pounds of heroin into the metropolitan Portland 

area every week. By early 2015, investigators had revealed the cells’ transportation 

methods and the movement of money via banks, bulk cash smuggling, and wire transfers. 

In February 2015, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a multi-count indictment 

implicating 22 defendants. Soon thereafter, investigators executed search and arrest 

warrants at 24 locations across four states. By February 2018, all principal targets had 

been convicted and the court had ordered more than $1.4 million in forfeiture money 

judgments. All 22 defendants have been sentenced, with sentences ranging from time-
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served to 151 months in prison. The 22 defendants hailed from both the United States 

and Mexico, with 12 being citizens of Mexico. 

Immigration Status of and Pending Charges Against Known or 

Suspected Aliens in USMS Custody 

A. Immigration Status of Known or Suspected Aliens in USMS Custody 

The USMS is DOJ’s component charged with the housing and care of federal pretrial detainees. 

USMS also houses certain short-term sentenced individuals, as well as sentenced individuals 

pending transfer to BOP. This report includes data on all known or suspected aliens in USMS 

custody.4

 As of March 31, 2018, 21,554 confirmed aliens were in USMS custody, along with 

2,075 individuals for whom alienage had not yet been determined. 

Confirmed aliens, identified through self-reporting or through confirmation of alienage by ICE, 

comprised 38 percent of the 56,436 total individuals in USMS custody. Of those confirmed 

aliens, 70 percent (15,065 individuals) had removal orders, 20 percent (4,383 individuals) had 

their immigration status currently under investigation, and approximately seven percent (1,587 

individuals) were unlawfully present and in removal proceedings (see Figure 4). Only one 

percent (274 individuals) of the confirmed aliens in USMS custody were lawfully present and in 

immigration proceedings. Another one percent (245 individuals) of the confirmed aliens in 

USMS custody were in receipt of a grant of protection or relief from removal. 

 

4

 USMS data reflects all aliens in USMS custody, and does not delineate solely pretrial aliens as the USMS also 

detains post-trial aliens completing short-term sentences or awaiting transfer to BOP. 
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Figure 4: Immigration Status of Confirmed Aliens in USMS Custody, FY18 Q2 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

B. Pending Primary Charges Against Confirmed Aliens in USMS Custody 

Of the 21,554 confirmed aliens in USMS custody, approximately 56 percent (12,121 individuals) 

were in custody for a primary offense related to immigration, such as human trafficking or illegal 

reentry after deportation (see Figure 5). Approximately 23 percent (4,864 individuals) of the

confirmed aliens in USMS custody were in custody for a primary offense related to drugs. Other 

primary offenses included violations of conditions of supervision (1,062 individuals, 

approximately five percent of the aliens in USMS custody), property offenses (947 individuals, 

approximately four percent of the aliens in USMS custody), weapons offenses, and violent 

offenses (406 and 406 individuals, respectively, each approximately two percent of the aliens in 

USMS custody). Approximately four percent (955 individuals) of the aliens in USMS custody 

were material witnesses, while another four percent (796 individuals) were in custody for an 

unlisted offense or were in USMS custody due to a writ, hold, or transfer. Notably, 69 percent 

(14,916) of all aliens in USMS custody were apprehended in the southwest region. 
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Figure 5: Pending Primary Charges Against Confirmed Aliens in USMS Custody, FY18 Q2 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

C. Costs Associated With Confirmed Aliens in USMS Custody 

During the second quarter of FY18, USMS had an average daily population of 20,132 confirmed 

aliens in custody, and incurred more than $136 million in housing costs related to those prisoners 

during that quarter. An average of 3,198 of those aliens were held in BOP facilities, for whom no 

direct housing costs were incurred by USMS (the costs were instead funded by appropriations 

received by BOP). An average daily population of 82 aliens were also housed in other settings 

for which no direct housing costs were incurred by USMS, such as in hospitals or in correctional 

health care facilities due to required medical treatment. The remaining 16,853 aliens (daily 

average) in USMS custody were housed in a combination of state, local, and private facilities, at 

an average cost of $90.23 per diem. 

Immigration Status of Individuals in State and Local Custody 

Through its Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), DOJ continues 

its progress towards better understanding the immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated 

in state prisons and local detention centers. In the meantime, some data is already available from 

particular states, such as Texas. Additionally, some information is available through public 
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reporting of cases that offer anecdotal evidence of alien criminal activity at the state and local 

levels. 

A. Gathering Data from State Prisons 

BJS currently collects on an annual basis aggregate numbers of noncitizens in state and federal 

prisons through the National Prisoner Statistics program. Departments of corrections voluntarily 

submit these numbers. The most recent figures, released in January 2018, were from December 

31, 2016. According to that report, there were approximately 83,573 inmates under federal 

jurisdiction or in state custody who are not U.S. citizens. As BJS appropriately noted,5 state 

numbers in the report, which reflect 43,617 noncitizen individuals in custody, represent an 

undercount, because five states—including California, Nevada, and Oregon—did not report 

citizenship data. In addition, other states likely also provided undercounts, in part because; (1) 

inmates self-report place of birth or citizenship, and state corrections departments use these 

elements differently to determine citizenship, and (2) the count for most states only includes 

individuals in state-run institutions, not private facilities. Due to this underreporting (or complete 

lack of reporting) by some states, the aggregate tally of 83,573 noncitizen inmates reported to 

BJS as being under federal jurisdiction or in state custody does not currently represent a 

comprehensive national total. 

 

BJS is improving its data collection in this area, including asking states and the BOP to provide 

additional information to disaggregate the number of noncitizens in custody by basic sentence 

length and by sex as of December 31 each year. The enhanced data collection began in January 

2018, and will also include counts of noncitizens in both state-run and private facilities for all 

jurisdictions. BJS expects to release the 2017 counts of noncitizens soon. 

BJS is also continuing its efforts to modify the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP), 

BJS’s annual collection of individual-level state prisoner records, to collect citizenship status of 

all inmates in state prisons. In November 2018, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

at the Office of Management and Budget granted conditional clearance for BJS to utilize a 

modified NCRP.6

 The modified NCRP now also collects information regarding whether inmates 

in state prisons are citizens of the United States, the country of each inmate’s current citizenship, 

and the country of each inmate’s birth. BJS began data collection using the modified NCRP in 

early 2019. 

B. Gathering Data from Local Detention Facilities 

BJS currently collects data from local detention facilities through its Annual Survey of Jails 

(ASJ). Currently, the ASJ data cannot be used to accurately estimate the total number of 

 

5

 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2016 (Jan. 2018), https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p16.pdf. 6 Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Notice of Office of Management and Budget Action (Nov. 2018), 

https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/DownloadNOA?requestID=292954.
15 

noncitizens in local custody. BJS is working to improve reporting from local facilities, and 

develop ASJ’s data collection to allow the disaggregation of conviction status, which would 

enable analysis of ASJ data to determine the number of noncitizens in custody, and to break 

those numbers down by conviction status. During the first quarter of FY18, BJS fielded a pilot 

study to investigate the ability of local jail facilities to report this information. Based on the 

results of this study, BJS is working to modify its 2019 Census of Jails (which is fielded instead 

of the ASJ every 5-7 years) to include this improved data collection. The 2019 Census of Jails 

will be fielded later this year. 

In addition, the DHS, Office of Immigration Statistics is currently evaluating potential strategies 

to estimate the immigration status of individuals in state and local custody based on information 

available in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey on individuals living in 

institutional settings, a category that includes federal and state prisons as well as local jails. 

C. Nonfederal Data and Public Reporting 

While the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are developing improved methods to 

collect and analyze relevant data from state and local authorities, some of those authorities 

already take the proactive step of making this data available to the public. 

For example, the Texas Department of Public Safety publishes data online regarding criminal 

alien arrests and convictions. These data do not account for all aliens in the Texas criminal 

justice system, as they are limited to criminal alien arrestees who have had prior interaction with 

DHS resulting in the collection of their fingerprints. Nonetheless, these data are helpful in 

understanding how criminal aliens impact public safety and the criminal justice system. As 

reported by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS): 

According to DHS status indicators, over 279,000 criminal aliens have been booked 

into local Texas jails between June 1, 2011 and January 31, 2019, of which over 

189,000 were classified as illegal aliens by DHS. 

Between June 1, 2011 and January 31, 2019, these 189,000 illegal aliens were 

charged with more than 295,000 criminal offenses which included arrests for 539 

homicide charges; 32,785 assault charges; 5,737 burglary charges; 37,234 drug 

charges; 403 kidnapping charges; 15,991 theft charges; 23,701 obstructing police 

charges; 1,660 robbery charges; 3,473 sexual assault charges; 2,170 sexual offense 

charges; and 2,976 weapon charges. DPS criminal history records reflect those 

criminal charges have thus far resulted in over 120,000 convictions including 238 

homicide convictions; 13,662 assault convictions; 3,158 burglary convictions; 

17,930 drug convictions; 175 kidnapping convictions; 7,100 theft convictions; 

11,336 obstructing police convictions; 1,013 robbery convictions; 1,710 sexual 

assault convictions; 1,153 sexual offense convictions; and 1,282 weapon 

convictions. 
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These figures only count individuals who previously had an encounter with DHS 

that resulted in their fingerprints being entered into the DHS IDENT database. 

Foreign nationals who enter the country illegally and avoid detection by DHS, but 

are later arrested by local or state law enforcement for a state offense will not have 

a DHS response in regard to their lawful status and do not appear in these counts. 

However, in addition to the PEP [Priority Enforcement Program] program, DHS 

actively adjudicates the immigration status of individuals incarcerated in the Texas 

prison system. From 2011 to date, the Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has 

provided DPS with information on more than 26,000 individuals who were 

identified by DHS as in the country illegally while they were incarcerated at TDCJ. 

10,306 of these individuals were not identified through the PEP program at the time 

of their arrest. DPS does not know the current incarceration status of the individuals 

identified while they were incarcerated nor when their alien status was initially 

determined.7

D. Examples of Media Reports of Crimes Committed by Aliens at the State and Local 

Level 

In addition to official data from state and local authorities, media reports can be helpful in 

understanding the impacts of aliens on public safety and the criminal justice system in the United 

States. Media reports are inherently less desirable than official data, in part because of the higher 

possibility of inaccuracies. Additionally, media reports are limited in their utility to identify 

larger trends, both because the reporting may be inconsistent and because media reports may be 

more likely to report on atypically serious crimes. Nonetheless, particularly in the absence of 

official data, anecdotal examples from public reporting are noted. A few examples from the 

second quarter of FY18 include:8

 Viusqui J. Perez-Espinosa, 45, who was convicted in Louisiana of killing his exgirlfriend’s new boyfriend, dismembering the body, and dumping the remains in a 

swamp. He was arrested in early 2017, several months after the murder, after severed 

body parts began to surface and were found by a fisherman. Perez-Espinosa is a Cuban 

national.9

 

 

7

 Texas Dep’t of Pub. Safety, Texas Criminal Illegal Alien Data (last visited Feb. 15, 2019), 

https://www.dps.texas.gov/administration/crime_records/pages/txCriminalAlienStatistics.htm. 

8

 The information contained within these examples comes entirely from the cited media reports. Neither DOJ nor 

DHS make any assurances as to the accuracy of the information provided in these examples, nor have DOJ or DHS 

independently confirmed any of the information in this section. The examples are provided solely for the purpose of 

demonstrating the type of information that is often contained within media reports about criminal activity. 

9

 Laura McKnight, Man convicted of killing, dismembering ex-girlfriend’s new lover: Jefferson Parish DA, The 

Times-Picayune (Mar. 26, 2018), 

https://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2018/03/man_convicted_of_killing_disme.html. 
17 

 Zheheng Feng, 24, pled guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals after killing his 

girlfriend’s dog and stuffing the body down a building garbage chute. Feng, a former 

Manhattan bank worker, was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail before being deported. He 

is a Chinese national.10

 Abigail Hernandez, 21, was arrested in Rochester, N.Y. in February 2018 for making 

threats to shoot up a high school in Rochester. Hernandez, who came to the United States 

illegally and was granted protection under DACA, later pled guilty.11

 Ricardo Corral-Venegas, 27, who was sentenced to 72 years to life in prison for raping 

one woman at knifepoint in her apartment in Aurora, Colorado, while her one-year-old 

son was at the apartment. Two weeks after the first rape, Corral-Venegas attempted to 

enter a different apartment in the same complex and sexually assault a second woman. 

Corral-Venegas is a former Mexican police officer from Chihuahua, Mexico, and a 

warrant there alleges that he raped five other women. He has entered the United States 

illegally at least twice, including once after being deported.12

Additional Information Regarding Criminal Aliens in the United States 

A. Efforts to Expand the Institutional Hearing and Removal Program

The Institutional Hearing and Removal Program (IHRP) is a cooperative effort between the 

Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), DHS, and various federal, state, and 

municipal corrections agencies. As part of the IHRP, DHS identifies alien inmates in BOP, state, 

or local custody who may be removable from the United States and initiates their removal 

proceedings before EOIR while the aliens continue serving their criminal sentences. Bringing 

immigration judges to these inmates for a determination of their removability allows their 

immigration case to be resolved prior to their release from incarceration. Through the IHRP, 

EOIR provides in-person and video teleconference immigration proceedings to determine 

whether alien inmates are removable from the United States and, if removable, whether they are 

eligible for any form of protection or relief from removal. 

Upon their release from custody, DHS is able to effectuate the removal of those aliens who have 

a final order of removal, as determined by either an immigration judge or the Board of 

Immigration Appeals. IHRP aims to avoid transferring removable aliens into DHS custody, or 

 

10 Gabrielle Fonrouge, Ex-banker gets jail, deportation for killing girlfriend’s dog, New York Post (Feb. 5, 2018), 

https://nypost.com/2018/02/05/ex-banker-gets-jail-deportation-for-killing-girlfriends-dog/. 11 Frank Miles, DACA recipient, 21, threatened to ‘shoot all of ya b----es’ at NY high school, police say, Fox News 

(Feb. 25, 2018), https://www.foxnews.com/us/daca-recipient-21-threatened-to-shoot-all-of-ya-b-es-at-ny-highschool-police-say. 

12 Kieran Nicholson, Former police officer from Mexico sentences to 72 years to life for sexually assaulting Aurora 

woman, other felonies, The Denver Post (Mar. 21, 2018), https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/21/ricardo-corralvenegas-sex-assault-aurora/. 
18 

releasing them into the community, pending future adjudication of their immigration case. By 

holding immigration proceedings during an alien’s prison sentence, IHRP enhances the overall 

efficiency of the immigration system while contributing to the Nation’s security. 

Between January 1 and March 31, 2018, EOIR completed 640 immigration cases at 45 IHRP 

locations. EOIR had 1,963 IHRP cases pending as of March 31, 2018 and may hear cases at 

additional IHRP locations as circumstances warrant.