There are around 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the United States who have been ordered deported by federal immigration judges, Fox News has learned. 

Of those ordered to be brought back to their home countries, around 13,000 of them are being held in custody by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), a U.S. official said. 

With only a few thousand in custody, many more are in the U.S. illegally despite orders to have them removed. Figures on how many are being held in local or state custody were not available. 

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ICE and ERO officers detaining one of 216 illegal immigrants who have been convicted of drug dealing or drug possession. Around 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the United States have deportation orders against them, a U.S. official said.  (Todd Packard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) )

The 1.4 million figure means that those ordered removed have had their immigration cases heard and decided. Some may still have appeal options available to them, the official said. 

The figure also goes back many years, across multiple presidential administrations, and changes, as some illegal immigrants are ordered deported and others are removed from the country. 

President-elect Trump has promised to carry out mass deportations, initially focusing on criminal illegal immigrants, once he takes office on Jan. 20. Texas is offering the incoming administration a tract of more than 1,400 acres in the Rio Grande Valley sector near the border on which to stage its mass deportation operation.

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This file photo shows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. (Reuters)

In response to Trump’s promise, some cities have vowed to protect illegal immigrants from such raids and to not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. 

On Tuesday, Los Angeles city leaders voted to formally adopt a sanctuary city ordinance in response to Trump. Minutes after the vote at City Hall, the Los Angeles Unified School District also approved a vote to become a sanctuary district, meaning district employees are prohibited from voluntarily complying with immigration authorities, including sharing information about students’ immigration status.

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For years, ICE has repeatedly called out sanctuary city jurisdictions for not cooperating with immigration authorities, particularly when illegal immigrant criminals reoffend or engage in egregious crimes after being released from local custody.