“The data in this letter is being misinterpreted,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement. “The data goes back decades; it includes individuals who entered the country over the past 40 years or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this Administration.”

The spokesperson added, “It also includes many who are under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners.”