Between January and June localities released more than 16,000 illegal immigrants that Homeland Security had wanted held for deportation.

Whie there is certainly room for debate on how to tackle the issue from a political and logistical standpoint, there is little room for doubt that America has an illegal immigration problem.

There is also little room for doubt that the situation with U.S. sanctuary cities, which provide safe harbor for many violent criminals, is untenable.

Still, despite hardline rhetoric from presidential candidates like Donald Trump and others who argue in favor of tightening our immigration policies, the fiasco continues undeterred.

Case in point: The number of American sanctuary cities providing refuge for thousands of violent criminals has grown to more than 340 to date.

That means there are 340 jurisdictions in the United States that will not cooperate with federal deportation requests.

While some of these jurisdictions, like those in California, come as no surprise, others like Prince George's County in Maryland and Chesterfield County in Virginia raise eyebrows. The Washington Times reports:

Number of Sanctuary Cities Climbs to 340; Thousands of Illegals Released to Commit Crimes | Truth Revolt