WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton on Friday announced the agency’s fiscal year (FY) 2012 year-end removal numbers, highlighting trends that underscore the administration’s focus on removing from the country convicted criminals and other individuals that fall into priority areas for enforcement. To further focus ICE resources on the most serious criminal offenders, ICE also issued new national detainer guidance. This guidance limits the use of detainers to individuals who meet the department’s enforcement priorities and restricts the use of detainers against individuals arrested for minor misdemeanor offenses such as traffic offenses and other petty crimes, helping to ensure that available resources are focused on apprehending felons, repeat offenders and other ICE priorities. It is applicable to all ICE enforcement programs, including Secure Communities.
“Smart and effective immigration enforcement relies on setting priorities for removal and executing on those priorities,” said Director Morton. “In order to further enhance our ability to focus enforcement efforts on serious offenders, we are changing who ICE will issue detainers against. While the FY 2012 removals indicate that we continue to make progress in focusing resources on criminal and priority aliens, with more convicted criminals being removed from the country than ever before, 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.”
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. ICE’s implementation of this directive includes today’s new national detainer policy, as well as the continued use of investigations and programs like Operation Cross Check that target criminal aliens and ICE’s expanded collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to remove recent border crossers.
ICE priorities include the identification and removal of those that have broken criminal laws, threats to national security, recent border crossers and repeat violators of immigration law. Overall, in FY 2012 ICE’s Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations removed 409,849 individuals. Of these, approximately 55 percent, or 225,390 of the people removed, were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors – almost double the removal of criminals in FY 2008. This includes 1,215 aliens convicted of homicide; 5,557 aliens convicted of sexual offenses; 40,448 aliens convicted for crimes involving drugs; and 36,166 aliens convicted for driving under the influence.
ICE continues to make progress with regard to other categories prioritized for removal. Some 96 percent of all ICE’s removals fell into a priority category – a record high.
To support DHS’ efforts to secure our nation’s borders, ICE prioritizes the identification and removal of recent border crossers and conducts targeted enforcement operations with the U.S. Border Patrol. The historic results along the Southwest Border are attributable to the joint efforts of U.S. Border Patrol agents and ICE officers and agents, and the emphasis ICE places on the removal of recent border crossers.
As part of the effort to ensure that the immigration system can focus its resources on priority cases, ICE has also implemented policies and processes that ensure that those enforcing immigration laws make appropriate use of the discretion they have in deciding the types of individuals prioritized for removal from the country. In addition, ICE has also decided not to renew any of its agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies that operate task forces under the 287(g) program. ICE has concluded that other enforcement programs, including Secure Communities, are a more efficient use of resources for focusing on priority cases.
Why shouldn’t ICE no longer deport persons for minor offenses? If they can get the same wage and do less work, isn’t that the american way of life? Remember, they are govt employees. I am sure a clause will come up in their next contract to make this a permanent issue.
OF COURSE they won’t deport them…they’re potential voters!
Well this is what we get when Obama himself isn’t an American he is going to allow the illegals in our country, give them our jobs, and supply them with housing/food stamps. and after his term is up he can hand down our countries leadership th one of the illegals. This is why we have to look over our shoulders when we walk.
Now just add dropping a kid here and your on the well fare ranks forever. Thank you Osama Obama.
And to think 55% voted for this guy, wow
If people would quit hiring them they would go home.
If they are illegal (Key word-ILLEGAL) they should be deported. Just think of what the cost the taxpayers with their tax evasion, welfare, theft and all the other stuff they do. I know in Texas the auto insurance is much higher because the illegals buy a car for a couple of hundred dollars, drive down the road with no license and no insurance, run into someone and get out and run away leaving the victim to pay for the repairs. It is big money and they will steal anything they get their hands on. If you were illegal in Mexico you would be deported or shot.
Interesting concept, illegal in Mexico. I really can’t think of anyone who would want to go to that crime ridden cesspool of a country in the first place.
@A Citizen-I spent over two years in Mexico and another two or three working in and out of there. Believe me they are very tough on illegals. Yes, they have a lot of crime and part of that is because anyone from another country can not work there unless you have a work permit. I had to have a visa, passport and work permit and even then almost ended up in jail because I was a American in Mexico. Believe me, you do not want to end up in a Mexican jail. You have no rights whatsoever down there.
Ya, and Obama will give them all amnesty before he leaves office in 2017.
Just wondering where the line is between minor and serious. As a tax paying, voting citizen, I would be interested in what falls on each side of the line. Which side does tax fraud and tax evasion fall on. I don’t have a problem with immigrants as long as they come here legally, find a job, follow rules, pay taxes, live one family in a single family house, and spend their hard earn money here, not send all their paycheck back home.