Deportations Under ICE’s Secure Communities Program
Immediately upon assuming office, President Trump issued an Executive Order terminating what was known as the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) and “reinstat[ing] the immigration [enforcement] program known as ‘Secure Communities.'” This program is widely portrayed as the cornerstone of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts for stepped up deportations.
As TRAC reports, recently released ICE removal-by-removal records from Secure Communities—current through October 2017—provide a portrait of deportations of immigrants from each state and county in the nation by the Trump Administration. This report examines first how the level of Secure Communities deportations has changed under the new administration, and then turns to what types of crimes are now being targeted through this program.
Are Secure Communities Deportations Increasing?
The new administration initially did successfully ramp up deportations, although increases in removals of those who had committed serious crimes were modest. See TRAC’s previous report with data through July 2017. Data now through October 2017 continue to show considerable month-to-month variability with no further upward trend. The number of those deported under this program – including some who have no criminal record – appear to have stabilized, averaging around 6,200 per month.
It is instructive to note that this number is still somewhat below the level that had prevailed during the Secure Communities years under President Obama. However, it does represent a significant increase above the Nov 2014 – January 2017 period when Obama’s Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) replaced Secure Communities.
KJ