The Enforcement Beat Goes On

The Obama administration’s “enforcement now, enforcement forever” approach to immigration is having an impact — especially on Latino immigrants.  The Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Report released this month finds that DHS made 517,000 apprehensions and removed 387,000 foreign nationals from the United States in fiscal year 2010.  Key findings in this report include the following:

• DHS apprehended 517,000 foreign nationals; 83 per-cent were natives of Mexico.

• ICE detained approximately 363,000 foreign nationals.

• DHS removed 387,000 foreign nationals from the United States. The leading countries of origin of those removed were Mexico (73 percent), Guatemala (8 percent), Honduras (6 percent), and El Salvador (5 percent).

• Reinstatements of final orders accounted for 131,000, or 34 percent, of all removals.

• Expedited removals accounted for 111,000, or 29 percent, of all removals.

• ICE removed 169,000 known “criminal aliens” from the United States.

• DHS returned 476,000 foreign nationals to their home countries without a removal order.

KJ