The US has deported about 400,000 immigrants in 2011, marking the highest number of such expulsions since the formation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) eight years ago.
Over 50 percent of the 396,906 deportations, from October 2010 through September 2011, concerned illegal immigrants with criminal records, Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.
Concerning the number and priority of the deportations, ICE Commissioner John Morton told reporters, "You can count on seeing more of the same next year."
US President Barack Obama's administration decided in September to extend the deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops on the US-Mexico border through the end of the year at a cost of about USD 10 million a month.
Though, the administration prioritized the deportations, it also promised it would review the present deportation caseload to clear out low-priority cases.
ICE officials say the yearend totals indicate the agency is making progress in deporting what it calls “convicted criminals, border crossers and immigration law violators.”
The record number of deportations under the Obama administration has left a 'wake of devastation in Latino communities across the nation,' Joanne Lin, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
“These record-breaking deportation numbers come at a time when illegal immigration rates have plummeted, the undocumented population has decreased substantially and violent crime rates are at their lowest levels in 40 years. Our country can no longer afford to pay for uncontrolled, unwarranted [Designated Health Services] DHS spending, at the cost to US taxpayers.”
JM/HN