United States releases year-end deportation numbers

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While not giving any specific numbers for the Caribbean, ICE's Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations had removed 409,849 individuals from the United States.

WASHINGTON D.C., United States, Thursday December 27, 2012 – The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has released figures showing the number of people deported from the United States to the Caribbean and other countries, underscoring the Obama administration's focus on removing convicted criminals and others that fall into priority areas for enforcement.

ICE director John Morton while not giving any specific numbers for the Caribbean, said overall, ICE's Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations had removed 409,849 individuals from the United States.

He said about 55 per cent, or 225,390 of the people removed, were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors, almost double the removal of criminals in 2008.

Morton announced a new national detainer guidance that limits the use of detainers to individuals who meet the department's enforcement priorities and restricts detainers against individuals arrested for minor misdemeanor offenses, such as traffic offenses and other petty crimes.

He said the new guidance helps to ensure that available resources are focused on apprehending felons, repeat offenders and other ICE priorities.

“Smart and effective immigration enforcement relies on setting priorities for removal and executing on those priorities. In order to further enhance our ability to focus enforcement efforts on serious offenders, we are changing who ICE will issue detainers against.”

Morton said that while 2012 removals indicate that the agency continues to make progress in focusing resources on criminal and priority aliens “we are constantly looking for ways to ensure that we are doing everything we can to utilize our resources in a way that maximizes public safety”.

He said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has directed ICE to focus its resources on key priorities in all aspects of its immigration enforcement efforts. (CMC) Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)

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Comments (1 posted):

Derek Godette on 28/12/2012 10:23:08

In the past, the U.S. Immigration Service has deported hundreds of thousands of Immigrants by violating their rights for relief. See, Lopez,Moreno, and jugulang Supreme Court rulings, and they have not posted any remedies for relief instead they enforce the Post departure Bar when a deported immigrant files for relief that they have recklessly denied them. All the Caricom nations should protest against the United States for these violations they have committed against their nationals, regardless of the nature of their crimes. There is relief in laws congress has set forth that the Immigration Service flagrantly denies immigrants. They would instead give someone deportable, a form to sign instead, telling them that if they fight their case to remain in the United States, they will lock them up for a long time until the case has finished. That is how they do it in the United States.