|
 |
 |
 |
|
 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Immigration officials announce increase in deportations
Federal immigration officials deported 3,836 immigrants from New England during the last budget year, up from 3,464 deportees the year before, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced today.
The jump marked an increase of nearly 11 percent but was still about half the increase nationwide.
Nationally, deportations soared to 349,041 for the budget year that ended in September, up from 288,663 the year before, an increase of nearly 21 percent.
“We made a commitment to the American people to embark on an ambitious enforcement strategy aimed at securing our borders and strengthening our nation’s immigration system,” Julie L. Myers, the assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement. “The record results seen across the country reflect significant, steady progress toward this goal.”
Myers resigned Wednesday, effective Nov. 15, to make way for the new administration.
The percentage of deportees in New England with criminal convictions continued to decline, even though combating crime and terrorism is the department's stated top priority. In New England, federal officials deported 1,017 criminal immigrants last year, about 26.5 percent of the total and a slight decline from the year before.
In 2005, 45 percent of the region's deportees were criminals.
Today, Todd Thurlow, assistant field office director for ICE detention and removal operations, said apprehending criminals and combating terrorism is the agency's chief priority, but the overall numbers reflect a variety of different sources. Some illegal immigrants are apprehended at airports or at the border and turned over to ICE, which increases the total numbers.
He pointed out that the overall number of criminals deported rose from 956 to 1,017, even though their share declined.
"We’re pretty consistent from this year to last year," he said. "We’re taking in more people and removing more people."
But Eva Millona, the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, say the numbers show that ICE is apprehending more ordinary workers than criminals.
"The agency’s really putting a lot of resources into this and clearly the number of criminals is low," she said. "It really indicates that the resources are not going where they are supposed to be going."
