Unclear If Operation Talon Was Ever Implemented

Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be suspicious. On February 7th, The Washington Post reported that ICE officials themselves had canceled Operation Talon, and the Biden Administration was not directly involved in the decision. According to a senior ICE official, it was suspended due to changes in immigration policy, and while they awaited new instructions under the new presidency. 

Additionally, Operation Talon had only been proposed during the final weeks of the Trump administration, and there is little evidence that it was ever put into action. It's also unclear whether it was responsible for actual arrests or deportations. The same ICE official told the Post that Homeland Security Investigations, a wing of ICE that conducts criminal investigations, has continued investigating sex offenses involving U.S. noncitizens.

The letter from attorneys general who argued against the cancelation does not address any impact that Operation Talon may have had. Biden’s overall approach to immigration is starkly different from that of the previous administration, and the writers of the letter urge Biden to “adopt an aggressive enforcement policy against illegal aliens convicted of sex crimes, and send a message to sexual predators that they are not welcome in the United States of America.”