Majority of people deported over the last decade were non-criminals
Of the 3.7 million immigrants who were formally removed from the United States over the last decade, a majority were immigrants with no criminal records,…
A majority of the 3.7 million people who were formally removed between fiscal years 2003-2013 were non-criminals, a new report by the Migration Policy Institute finds. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Of the 3.7 million immigrants who were formally removed from the United States over the last decade, a majority were immigrants with no criminal records, according to a new report from the Migration Policy Institute.
The report released Thursday examines formal removals that occurred since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2003. It finds that while criminals account for a growing share of formal removals, non-criminals represent 59 percent of the 3.7 million people who were formally removed between fiscal years 2003-2013.
SEE ALSO: Latinos are disproportionately affected by deportations
That means a total of 1.5 million formal removals over the last decade involved criminal offenders. Of those criminal removals, 18 percent involved people whose only convictions were for immigration-related crimes. Another 15 percent of criminal removals involved people who were convicted of the most serious crimes, such as homicide, aggravated assault and burglaryalso known as FBI Part 1 crimes.
Non-criminal removals comprised the majority of removals at the border, as shown in this graphic:
(Photo credit: Migration Policy Institute)
The report also analyzed steps the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations took over the last decade to strengthen immigration enforcement.
The Bush administration ramped up immigration enforcement that led to an increase of interior removals. As a result, border removals dropped, going from 62 percent of all removals in 2006 to 53 percent in 2008. These efforts came after Congress failed to pass immigration reform legislation in 2006 and 2007.
When Obama took over in 2009, the focus shifted back to the border. By 2012, border removals accounted for 70 percent of all removals.
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The Obama administration also began to prioritize the removal of immigrants with previous criminal convictions. As a result, criminal removals increased, making up 80 percent of interior removals between fiscal years 2011-2013.
However, the report also finds DHS has been deporting people whom the Obama administration does not consider a priority for removal. According to the report, an estimated 191,000 fewer removals would have occurred if DHS had followed its guidelines issued in 2010 and 2011 for exercising discretion not to deport people who dont fall within the established enforcement priorities.
Overall, deportations that occurred between fiscal years 2003-2013 disproportionately targeted men and immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
Men compromise 53 percent of the overall unauthorized population in the United Sates, yet they accounted for 91 percent of all the 3.7 million formal removals carried out over the last decade. At the same time, Mexicans and Central Americans represent 73 percent of the unauthorized population, yet they made up 91 percent of all formal removals.
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