The number of people deported from the US after illegally residing in Wyoming and Colorado increased by over 50 percent during President Donald Trump’s first year in office, according to figures released by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.
Removals increased from 1033 to 2535 during the 2017 fiscal year in the two states, data from Dallas based Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman, Carl Rusnek has revealed. Arrests in Wyoming and Colorado also increased, by as much as 20 percent from 2284 to 2746, in the same period, according to Rusnek. Nationally, ICE officers made 110,568 arrests between 20 January and 20 September 2017 – an increase of 40 percent on 2016, a Department of Homeland Security news release claims.
ICE says that the reason for the increasing number of deportations and arrests was the policy change initiated by President Donald Trump, who made immigration enforcement a priority to uphold the rule of law and protect national security. The news release from the Department of Homeland Security also reiterated the President’s stance that no one is exempt from such enforcement if they have no legal right to be in the US and are thus eligible for deportation.
City officials in Denver have objected to the increase in immigration enforcement, in the summer passing an ordinance to limit the city’s cooperation with federal immigration officials and asking federal authorities to stop the practice of arresting undocumented immigrants near schools and in courthouses.