Immigration officials, pushing back on charges they have left the border open, said Friday that they have deported hundreds of thousands this year and that 94 percent of those targeted are here illegally, pose a terror threat, or are gang members.
In a year end report, the Department of Homeland Security revealed some stunning numbers that they suggested shows success in the war on illegal immigration.
In a call and on a fact sheet, the administration said that it began taking action against 805,071 illegals.
It deported or removed 450,950 and arrested 530,250 individuals nationwide. “ICE and CBP repatriated a total of 450,954 individuals in FY 2016, which consisted of 344,354 removals and 106,600 returns. Overall, 94 percent of removals and returns were classified within a Priority 1,” which includes national security threats, illegals, and gang members, said DHS.
The U.S. Border Patrol reported 415,816 apprehensions nationwide, more than the 337,117 arrests in fiscal year 2015. And the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 114,434 individuals, lower than the 125,211 arrested last year.
What’s more, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations pulled aside 274,821 inadmissible individuals at ports of entry and “removed or returned” 240,255 illegals, slightly more than last year.
The department said: “Immigration enforcement agents and officers initiated new enforcement actions against 805,071 inadmissible or deportable aliens in FY 2016. These actions included 415,816 USBP apprehensions, 274,821 inadmissibility determinations by OFO, and 114,434 ICE arrests. Overall, 98 percent of these actions involved individuals who were classified within one of the Department’s enforcement priority categories. Ninety-one percent of initial enforcement actions involved individuals classified within the highest-level Priority 1 categories.”
It also highlighted the surge in young, unaccompanied illegals and so-called family units crashing the border, and said that illegals from Central America outnumbered those from Mexico for the first time.
And DHS painted a costly portrait of deportation and refugee efforts for those from Central America who are harder to send back than Mexicans.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
