The Department of Homeland Security has admitted that its website list of what it described as “the worst of the worst” arrested immigrants was littered with errors, CNN reported Thursday.
The charges against hundreds of immigrants were described incorrectly on the website, according to a spokesperson for the DHS, and the “glitch” that impacted about 5% of the entries was reportedly fixed Wednesday. The website currently lists about 25,000 people nationally.
The database is searchable by state, and there were 20 people listed Thursday — seven more than in January — as having been arrested in Maine, with their names and mugshots included. DHS reported that it made over 200 arrests during its immigration enforcement surge last month.
Seven people have been added to the list since the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram last reported about the “worst of the worst” on Jan. 31: Alvaro Mukaba Leta, who was arrested in Scarborough and listed with an assault charge; Omar Ahmed, who was arrested in Lewiston and listed with drug possession charges; Hector Diaz-Mejia, who was arrested in Warren and listed with a drug trafficking charge; Omar Omar, who was arrested in Waterville and listed with a charge of drug trafficking and aggravated assault; Mustafa Bulle, who was arrested in Lewiston and listed with a charge for assault and drug trafficking; Heritier Lokua, who was arrested in Lewiston and listed with a charge for smuggling and conspiracy; and Carlos Muyulema-Yumbla, who was arrested in Biddeford with a fraud charge.
All 13 people listed as arrested in Maine on the website as of Jan. 31 were still listed with the same charges Thursday. Most, if not all, were detained before the enforcement surge in January.
DHS has only disclosed a fraction of the total number of ICE detentions in the state.
The agency has not been clear about the charges and locations of the 206 people it says it arrested in Maine during the five-day immigration enforcement surge that it dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day.”
The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram rooted through court records and spoke with prosecutors, jail administrators, defense attorneys and other sources to learn more about the 13 men and women in Maine initially deemed the “worst of the worst.”
While all of those listed have some sort of criminal record, at least one of them appeared to commit his crimes decades ago outside of Maine; one does not appear to have a felony conviction at all; and several were transferred straight from local law enforcement into federal custody. The lack of information provided by ICE made it impossible to track down every single conviction the agency put on the website.
DHS created the website in December and federal officials have used it to justify its aggressive campaign to deport immigrants in the United States illegally.
