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April 11 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement said Tuesday it won't resume issuing its new weekly non-compliance reports until some flawed reporting errors are corrected. The agency's so-called "sanctuary city" reports -- which identify local municipalities in the United States that fail to comply with federal detainer orders -- began in mid-March but have been criticized due to purported inaccuracies.
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ICE said Tuesday it will look into the complaints and withhold future reports, called Declined Detainer Outcome Reports, until the analysis is complete.
"ICE remains committed to publishing the most accurate information available regarding declined detainers across the country and continues to analyze and refine its reporting methodologies," spokeswoman Sarah Rodriguez told NBC News. "The Declined Detainer Outcome Report has already sparked important conversations between ICE and law enforcement agencies across the nation, and the revised report will add to this discussion."
Since President Donald Trump's administration began releasing the reports, which are efforts to ramp up enforcement of federal immigration laws, law enforcement officials from across the country have pointed out inaccuracies in them.
ICE issued a corrective report to its first DDOR last month.
U.S. immigration laws have been a primary focus of Trump since he took office January 20. Since his inauguration, the president has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to widen its scope for deportations and attempted to push through two executive orders to temporarily bar U.S. entry for refugees and immigrants worldwide. Both orders have been blocked in federal court.
The DDORs, which did not exist in former President Barack Obama's government, were ordered by one of Trump's executive orders.
The president has repeatedly denounced so-called "sanctuary cities" -- municipalities in the United States, including some major cities like Los Angeles and New York City, that choose not to comply with federal detainer orders that are given by ICE when the agency targets undocumented immigrants linked to criminal activity for deportation.
Trump's administration has already said it plans to withhold some federal grant monies from cities or counties that ignore ICE detainer orders.
"When criminal aliens are released from local or state custody, they have the opportunity to reoffend," Rodriguez added. "It is much safer for all involved ... if ICE officers take custody in the controlled environment of another law enforcement agency."
Opponents to ICE detainer orders argue that they have unintended consequences, like deterring undocumented migrants from reporting crimes to police or performing other public functions for fear of being identified and deported.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors said in March that "recent research has shown that communities with so-called 'sanctuary' policies are safer than those without them," NBC News reported.
Friday during a tour of the southern border in Arizona, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions warned undocumented aliens about Trump's revamp of immigration policy.
"For those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be forewarned: This is a new era. This is the Trump era," he said.
"Criminal organizations that turn cities and suburbs into warzones, that rape and kill innocent citizens -- it is here, on this sliver of land, where we first take our stand against this filth."
