The Obama administration has halted its record-setting pace of deportations, carrying out 10 percent fewer expulsions in the fiscal year ending in September compared to the year before.
In announcing the new figures Thursday, administration officials attributed the drop to a shift in their immigration enforcement policies.
They said they have been focusing more on expelling violent criminals and recent border crossers. Nearly 60 percent of those removed — or deported — last year had previously been convicted of a crime, the highest percentage in the last five fiscal years, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In all, ICE reported 368,644 expulsions in fiscal year 2013. That is down from 409,849 in fiscal year 2012 — the largest number removed in ICE’s history. And it was up 3 percent from the year before, when the previous record was set at 396,906.
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