The sanctuary county of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina is on pace to free 1,000 criminal illegal aliens into the United States after terminating all cooperation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

Federal data reveal that each year up until Fiscal Year 2019, Mecklenburg County would hand over to ICE about 1,000 to 1,300 illegal aliens who had already been convicted of crimes or had pending charges against them.

In December 2018, though, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden ended the county’s 287(g) agreement with ICE that effectively turned the region into a sanctuary jurisdiction that shields criminal illegal aliens from deportation.

That sanctuary county policy indicates that about 1,000 criminal illegal aliens may be released at some time, and 300 illegal aliens who would have otherwise been deported from the U.S. by ICE will likely remain in the country instead.

“Sanctuary cities and counties around the country are acting as illegal incubators for criminal alien activity, harboring dangerous offenders and often releasing them back to the streets,” a federal official told Breitbart News. “The egregious practice of local police ignoring our laws and obstructing the federal law enforcement mission of safety and security should have no place in North Carolina or anywhere else.”

For all of Fiscal Year 2019, as Breitbart News noted, North Carolina sanctuary jurisdictions freed about 563 illegal aliens from custody instead of turning them over to ICE agents. Of those illegal aliens released, more than 500 have been convicted of crimes, including 28 convicted of assault, 192 convicted on traffic violations, 84 convicted of drunk driving, 46 convicted of possession of drugs, and 35 convicted of larceny.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.