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Did Joe Biden cancel Operation Talon? Trump's 'sex offender' program canceled months after it was launched

The program, aimed at removing convicted sex offenders in US, was reportedly shelved by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement weeks into the Biden administration

Operation Talon, a program reportedly initiated by former President Donald Trump's administration and aimed at removing convicted sex offenders living in the United States illegally, has reportedly been shelved by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it prepares to issue new guidelines to agents who look after arrests and deportations.

Multiple reports and tweets allege that President Joe Biden has reportedly canceled Operation Talon but a Washington Post report suggests that it was ICE officials who had the program canceled.

Operation Talon was a nationwide operation targeting sex offenders subject to deportation that had been initiated in the final weeks of the Trump administration. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has now urged Biden’s administration to reverse their cancelation of Operation Talon. Wilson has joined a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in urging Biden’s administration to change its decision of canceling the program which aimed at removing convicted sex offenders living in the country illegally.

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Wilson and the other state attorneys general sent a letter directed to Biden, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Acting Director of ICE Tae Johnson expressing their concerns. In the letter, the AGs said the cancelation could encourage sexual predators who seek to enter the country illegally and will further worsen issues of sexual assault and sex trafficking in immigrant communities.

“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 Wilson. “These trafficking and sex crimes are repugnant to human decency generally and to children specifically.”

What was Operation Talon?

According to a report from ABC News 4, Operation Talon targets convicted sex offenders who reside illegally in the United States. The previous administration introduced the initiative, although it probably has roots in a pilot program, which was first trialed in 1997, in Kentucky.

The pilot program was a result of Clinton’s Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. It gave authority to the law enforcement agencies to match felony fugitive files with official government records of current and former food stamp recipients. However, Trump’s Operation Talon was reportedly a nationwide program and it specifically targeted immigrants with convictions for sex crimes.

The letter also added that the cancelation of Operation Talon would effectively broadcast to the world that the United States is now a “sanctuary jurisdiction for sexual predators.”

There are multiple reports that allegedly suggest that the Biden administration has canceled Operation Talon. But as per a senior ICE official, the Biden administration had nothing to do with the decision. The unnamed official further alleged that they had not heard about the operation, but there is a possibility that career staffers had planned it and set it aside while awaiting reviewed instructions from Biden’s team, The Washington Post reported. The official further added that Homeland Security Investigations has continued investigating sex offenses involving US citizens and non-citizens.

'Operation Talon DOESNT EXIST'

Meanwhile, Twitter users were quick to dissect Operation Talon. One user wrote: "Operation Talon was canceled by our current president. This is a federal program that coordinates efforts to hunt human traffickers & rescue victims. So disappointing. Why would someone want to protect the evil ones & not the innocent?" Another tweeted, "This is a lie. 'Operation Talon was slapped together during the last few weeks of the Trump administration, is largely redundant, and was shelved by ICE officials...'".

A third resonated similar thoughts, "Nothing you just said is even in the article you are referring to and operation talon DOESNT EXIST. 1. It was reinstated in the last days of Orange lord office 2. It was reviewed to be empty, operation-wise (No one on staff really) 3. It was started by Clinton in the 1990s."

But a fourth went on to say, "Operation Talon was slapped together during the last few weeks of the Trump administration, is largely redundant, and was shelved by ICE officials until they see how it comports with new guidance from the Biden administration. Nothing to see here." Another wrote, "Reading tweets about 'Operation Talon' will undoubtedly elicit strong emotions. Take a pause, open a new browser tab and learn more about it before you react. Go deeper and learn context. #newsliteracy".

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.