The Disproportionate Impact of Deportations in Rural Communities
When people think about immigration, they often think about the large urban areas; Los Angeles, New York, Chicago. and San Francisco. immediately comes to minds of many as cities with big immigrant populations.
Walter Ewing on Immigration Impact looks at “The Disproportionate Impact of Deportations in Rural Communities.” He writes:
“Deportation proceedings are having a disproportionately large impact on the residents of rural counties throughout the United States. Compared to urban areas, the proportion of people going through deportation proceedings tends to be higher in rural America. And the potential impact of losing a community member in a small town may be far greater, too.
Not surprisingly, the highest numbers of immigrants undergoing deportation proceedings are found in urban areas, such as the greater Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago metropolitan areas. But a different picture emerges when the numbers are adjusted to account for different population sizes.
The nation’s immigration courts currently have a backlog of more than 1.1 million cases—meaning that over a million immigrants are awaiting their day in court. The geographic distribution of these cases was analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).
TRAC found that 59% of counties with the highest proportion of their residents in removal proceedings were in rural areas. While some people are in these rural locations because they’re in immigration detention—and many detention centers are located in rural areas—many others live and work in the community.
The proportion of residents in deportation proceedings was highest in the following 10 counties—all of which are rural:
- Stewart County, Georgia
- Frio County, Texas
- Hamilton County, Kansas
- Parmer County, Texas
- Winn Parish, Louisiana
- Colfax Country, Nebraska
- Nobles County, Minnesota
- LaSalle Parish, Louisiana
- Bailey County, Texas
- Manassas Park, Virginia” (bold added).
KJ