Administration Acknowledges Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Freed

Had previously said only "a few hundred" had been released

The Obama administration contradicted itself Thursday, acknowledging to Congress that it had, in fact, released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants from immigration jails due to budget constraints during three weeks in February. Four deemed especially dangerous have been placed back in jail.

The administration had claimed only a "few hundred immigrants" were released for budgetary reasons, challenging as inaccurate an Associated Press report that 2,000 immigrants had been released and that 3,000 more would be released this month.

However, the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, testified Thursday that his agency released 2,228 illegal immigrants for what he called "solely budgetary reasons."