ICE deports record number of immigrants in year

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Associated Press

MIAMI -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said Tuesday his agency deported nearly 400,000 individuals during the fiscal year 2011 that just ended in September.

Morton announced the numbers in Washington, saying they were the largest in the agency's history.

ICE said about 55 percent of the 396,906 individuals deported had felony or misdemeanor convictions. Officials said the number of individuals convicted of crimes was up 89 percent from 2008.

Officials could not immediately say how many of those crimes related just to previous immigration violations. Individuals can be convicted of a felony just for returning to the U.S. or being found in the U.S. after the government orders them to leave.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/18/2460009/ice-deports-record-number-of-immigrants.html

[EFerrari]

1. What a dumb waste of resources, not to mention,

another broken promise.

[alp227]

3. the 55% criminals figure is up 89% from last year

and it's an improvement. Now Obama needs to institute REAL REFORM including the DREAM Act! In fact, during the summer the administration modified deportation policies to prioritize illegal immigrants convicted of non-immigration felonies. Still, I don't want Obama to get caught up in a Republican soft-on-crime smear. Think about Clinton as governor of Arkansas allowing Ricky Ray Rector to be executed in 1992 four years after the Dukakis/Horton mess.

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. President Obama can't institute the DREAM Act

That must be passed by Congress. Considering that it couldn't get through a Democratic controlled Congress, its prospects are quite bleak at this point.

[EFerrari]

5. An improvement on what? They promised to go after criminals,

they have not. And immigration is at a 60 year low, so yes, this is a waste of resources.

And, let's face it, Obama is soft on crime. If it's true, it's not a smear.

[alp227]

7. to cons, soft on crime = not applauding Rick Perry bragging about executions

and they'll jump at ANY opportunity to play ads on TV depicting Obama next to border jumpers or menacing mugshots.

Or if by crime you mean Guantanamo torturers, the Bush war team, and Wall Street crooks, then Obama IS soft on crime.

[pampango]

2. Listening to a republican debate you would not know that illegal immigration is not at a 60-year low

and deportations are at a record level.

I believe "The border is out of control and Obama is doing nothing to enforce immigration law" is the right wing meme.

The facts (record numbers of fines and prison sentences against illegal employers, the mere trickle of illegal immigration now and record deportations) do nothing to stop a good ol' republican fear campaign.

"You should be very afraid of all the 'others' who are coming to get you. 'They' are the ones you have to watch out for not the rich 1% of good ol' Americans."

The Joke: A CEO, a tea party member, a union worker and an immigrant are sitting at a table when a plate with a dozen cookies arrives. Before anyone else can make a move, the CEO reaches out to rake in eleven of the cookies. When the other three look at him in surprise, the CEO locks eyes with the tea party member. "You better watch them," the executive says with a nod toward the union worker and the immigrant. "They want a piece of your cookie."

[tk2kewl]

6. all that great prison labor sent home?

:sarcasm:

[Throd]

8. ICE deports record number of illegal immigrants in year

"No human is illegal" There. I already posted that for some of you.

[Freddie Stubbs]

9. Some of those deported were not illegal immigrants

They were legal immigrants who broke the law.