ICE: 4,000+ known or suspected gang members, including those in MS-13, deported in FY 2020

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ICE deported more than 4,000 known or suspected gang members in fiscal year 2020, including hundreds belonging to the MS-13 gang, the agency said in a new report.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement end-of-year report for FY 2020 finds that the agency, which has come under fire from activists and lawmakers during the Trump administration, deported 185,884 immigrants.

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Of that number, 64% had either criminal convictions or pending criminal charges -- 399,235 aliens.

According to the report, 4,276 were known or suspected gang members, including 675 known or believed to have been a member of the brutal gang MS-13.

Additionally, 31 were known or suspected terrorists. Among the high-profile cases was the September removal of Saudin Agani, who ICE said provided material support to a terror organization, and the relative of the suspect who attacked two New York City cops earlier this year.

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The agency has faced years of calls for it to be abolished via an "Abolish ICE" movement, which included congressional Democratic lawmakers and even former presidential primary candidates. 

ICE officials have pushed back against that movement as well as against "sanctuary" cities that forbid cooperation with ICE. Officials have noted that the vast majority of those they arrest and deport have rap sheets and have frequently highlighted some of the worst offenders they have deported.

President-elect Joe Biden promised to impose a 100-day moratorium on deportations by ICE, as well as overhaul practices when it comes to the targeting and deporting those in the country illegally.

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He promised to institute a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, while also extending protections from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

However, his team also showed caution. In answers to a Spanish wire service this week, officials cautioned that changes to immigration policies -- particularly those to do with asylum -- could take time.