The Southeast and most other regions of the nation have experienced a substantial drop in deportations since the Obama administration began shifting the focus of its immigration enforcement, according to an analysis of records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
For example, the number of deportations linked to Georgia and the Carolinas has dropped by more than one-third over the past three years. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities based in Atlanta who are responsible for that region ordered 14,744 removals — or deportations – in fiscal year 2013, which ended in September. That is down nearly 36 percent from fiscal year 2011, when the tally was 22,963, ICE’s records show.
The White House is now taking fire from multiple sides over these numbers amid the national debate over immigration.
Critics say the Obama administration is undermining Congress and not deporting enough illegal immigrants. Immigrant rights activists say the government is deporting too many people and splitting up families. They are calling on the Obama administration to halt all deportations until Congress creates a path to legal status for immigrants living illegally in the U.S.
In June 2011, the Obama administration issued a new policy memo aimed at shifting the government’s focus toward expelling recent border crossers, serious criminals and those who threaten national security. Immigrants who were brought here as young children, who are attending school here or who have children who are U.S. citizens are to be given special consideration under the “prosecutorial discretion” memo.
In December, the government released figures showing the annual number of deportations had dropped by 10 percent nationwide after reaching a record high of 409,849 in fiscal year 2012. Most parts of the nation experienced double-digit percentage reductions between fiscal years 2011 and 2013.
At the same time, the administration’s figures show the government has deported a higher percentage of criminals. During the past fiscal year, the percentage of deportations involving criminals reached 59 percent, up from 55 percent the year before.
The government is also reporting more deportations linked to border states. For example, ICE authorities based in San Antonio handled nearly 65 percent more deportations in fiscal year 2013 compared with fiscal year 2011. One reason for the increase: More immigrants who are fleeing poverty and violence in Central America are attempting to illegally enter the U.S. along its southwest border.
In a conference call with reporters last month, John Sandweg, ICE’s acting director, said the overall number of deportations has fallen because the growing number of criminals that ICE is apprehending are spending more time in detention. He added that it takes longer to deport illegal immigrants to Central America than it does to Mexico.
“These results clearly demonstrate that ICE is enforcing our nation’s laws in a smart and effective way, meeting our enforcement priorities by focusing on convicted criminals while also continuing to secure our nation’s borders,” Sandweg told reporters.
Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, a research group that advocates tighter immigration controls, criticized the government’s efforts. She referred to a Pew Research Center report that estimates the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. grew by nearly 2 percent between 2011 and 2012 to 11.7 million.
“The metric that counts in terms of measuring our effectiveness in addressing illegal immigration is the size of the illegal population,” she said.
Frank Sharry, the founder and executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant rights group, said the government is deporting too many people without criminal records. The total number of deportations involving noncriminals reached 151,834 during the past fiscal year, though that is down nearly 18 percent from the year before, federal records show.
“It just galls us that you have deportation machinery that seems to be driven by quotas and politics, not by sound law enforcement prioritization,” Sharry said.
Among those who have benefited from the government’s “prosecutorial discretion” policies is Tony Guerrero, a Mexican native who overstayed a visa in the 1990s and now lives in the Atlanta area. In 2012, the film actor agreed in immigration court to voluntarily leave the country in lieu of being deported. But Guerrero, who is married to a U.S. citizen, continued to fight in court to stay. And last year, the government granted him a one-year reprieve from deportation. He is eligible to apply for the same relief in a year.
ICE initially said he didn’t qualify for such relief because he pleaded guilty to simple battery in 1999. A Gwinnett County State Court judge reduced that charge to disorderly conduct in 2012.
Guerrero applauded the Obama administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.
“It is a good idea to at least unclog the system and put the bad guys where they deserve” to be, he said. “Most of the (undocumented) immigrants are here … for one purpose and that is to just provide for their families.”
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