New data released by the Department of Homeland Security shows dozens of illegal immigrant criminals -many members of the notorious MS-13 street gang- were shielded by so-called ‘Sanctuary’ policies and released from US custody.

According to the Fox News, nearly two-thirds of those releases occurred in California; a state with the strongest statewide ‘Sanctuary’ policy in the nation dating back to 2014.

“Two-thirds of the releases occurred in California, which has had a strict sanctuary policy in effect since January 2014,” the Center for Immigration Studies added, pointing to “obvious public safety problems.”

From October 2016 to June 2017, DHS believes over 142 gang members were caught and released in areas where ‘Sanctuary City’ guidelines are mandatory; rebuking ICE agents and other federal authorities.

“Because ICE often determines gang affiliation through interviews, ICE cannot speculate about the number of times it was denied access to an alien in the custody of state or local authorities who may have had such an affiliation,” said the report.