Human Rights Watch: Many immigrants deported for nonviolent crimes

The U.S. government in recent years has repeatedly claimed to focus removal efforts on “criminal aliens.”  However, Human Rights Watch has released a report showig that increased enforcement efforts has resulted in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants convicted of nonviolent crimes. As the LA Times reports on the study, “Nearly three-quarters of the roughly 897,000 immigrants deported from 1997 to 2007 after serving criminal sentences were convicted of nonviolent offenses, and one-fifth were legal permanent residents . . . .”

KJ