AG Wilson urges Biden to reverse cancellation of ICE operation on convicted sex offenders

CHARLESTON, SC (WCIV) — South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in urging Biden's administration to reverse their cancellation of Operation Talon, which focuses on removing convicted sex offenders living illegally in the U.S.

The letter was directed to Pres. Joe Biden, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Acting Director of ICE Tae Johnson. The effort has been spearheaded by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

“We’re working hard to fight human trafficking and sex crimes in South Carolina and allowing convicted sex offenders who are here illegally to remain in our country makes absolutely no sense,” said Attorney General Wilson. “These trafficking and sex crimes are repugnant to human decency generally and to children specifically.”

In a letter, the attorneys general argue that canceling Operation Talon could encourage sexual predators who seek to enter the country illegally and worsen issues of sexual assault and trafficking in the immigrant community.

The letter states, “According to data collected by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, during the period from October 2014 to May 2018, ICE arrested 19,752 illegal aliens with criminal convictions for whom the most serious prior conviction was a conviction for a sex-related offense.”

In addition to South Carolina, state attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia also signed the letter.

You can read the letter in full below: