A new report shows that a program aimed at prioritizing the deportation of undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records is failing in its task. Fifty percent of the holds placed on undocumented immigrants are for those taken into custody but not convicted of committing crimes. This is according to an analysis of federal officials requests for jails to hold those suspected of violating US immigration laws.
Some of the undocumented immigrants held were arrested on traffic violations or later had their charges dropped. They remain caught in a process that involves them being held in federal immigration detention and may result in deportation from the US.
The Syracuse University-based Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse obtained records via an open records request and has revealed that just 25 percent of those in custody are responsible for committing serious offenses such as sexual assault or murder. Drunk driving was the most common conviction, followed by minor traffic offenses and miscellaneous assaults. The revelation follows claims by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they have narrowed the criteria used since the 2008 Secure Communities Program began, which resulted in record amounts of deportations under the Obama administration.
In November 2014, that program was replaced by the Priorities Enforcement Program. Jeh Johnson, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, claimed this program would focus on criminal immigrants with several misdemeanors or serious convictions. Recent ICE data, however, shows there is now a higher rate of the agency targeting those with no criminal records whatsoever.