Less Than Three Percent Of Illegals Were Deported Last Year

From Newsmax:

Less Than 3 Percent of Illegals Were Deported Last Year




The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) deported 298,410 illegal aliens last year — just 2.98 percent of the estimated 10 million illegal aliens in the country.



John Morton, assistant secretary of ICE, acknowledged in a memorandum that the agency’s mission has “direct significance for our national security, public safety, and the integrity of our border and immigration controls.”



But he said ICE’s ability to deport aliens was hampered by a lack of resources.



In its financial report for fiscal 2009, the DHS initially stated that ICE had deported 387,790 illegal aliens, close to its maximum capability of 400,000. But that figure was later revised to 298,410 after it came to light that some 89,000 of those originally reported aliens had voluntarily returned to their country of origin rather than face deportation.



According to CNSNews, Morton issued the memorandum to support the Obama administration’s shift in policy at the DHS to focus enforcement efforts on illegals who have committed crimes here rather than the general undocumented alien population.



ICE spokeswoman Gillian Brigham told CNSNews that in fiscal 2010, 50 percent of the illegal aliens who have been deported so far have been convicted of a crime in the United States.