From January to mid-March, the President Donald Trump administration was reported to have detained 21,362 immigrants for deportation proceedings. The amount of arrests were a 32 percent increase from last year, which is in itself very impressive. And while the administration said most of them were convicted criminals, 5,441 will be convicted soon for committing an illegal act.
For instance, roughly half of the 675 immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in February are in the United States illegally and committed several traffic violations, according to data obtained by The Washington Post.
Of these:
The previous administration's official line was that federal authorities would not prioritize the deportation of undocumented immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally — although, in practice, many immigrants were still deported. The Trump administration has said that Obama's policies and rhetoric stymied the department's efforts to ensure the safety of US citizens.
"I think their morale has suffered because of the job they were hired to do, and then in their sense, they're ... kind of hobbled or, you know, hands tied behind their back, that kind of thing," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. "And now, they feel more positive about things. I bet if you watch the morale issue, you'll ... be surprised going forward."
"As Secretary Kelly has made clear, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," ICE spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said. "All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States."
For instance, roughly half of the 675 immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in February are in the United States illegally and committed several traffic violations, according to data obtained by The Washington Post.
Of these:
- Two immigrants had been convicted of homicide
- 80 immigrants had been convicted of assault
- 57 immigrants had been convicted for "dangerous drugs"
- 163 immigrants had been convicted of traffic offenses — of these, 90 percent were for drunk driving
- 177 of them were slippery than the others and snuck inside the U.S. soil illegally; most probably to commit more crimes
The previous administration's official line was that federal authorities would not prioritize the deportation of undocumented immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally — although, in practice, many immigrants were still deported. The Trump administration has said that Obama's policies and rhetoric stymied the department's efforts to ensure the safety of US citizens.
"I think their morale has suffered because of the job they were hired to do, and then in their sense, they're ... kind of hobbled or, you know, hands tied behind their back, that kind of thing," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. "And now, they feel more positive about things. I bet if you watch the morale issue, you'll ... be surprised going forward."
"As Secretary Kelly has made clear, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," ICE spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said. "All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States."