29th Sep 11
US gets tough with illegal immigrants with criminal records
by Paul Russell
No escape: US authorities arrested thousands an prepare to deport them
No escape: US authorities arrested thousands an prepare to deport them
Authorities in the US arrested around 2,900 illegal immigrants with previous criminal convictions in a week-long nationwide operation, revealed the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
John Morton, the director of the ICE said that the agency will maintain an ongoing focus on criminal offenders, adding that these are not the type of people who should be walking the streets. Authorities detained 2,901 people during the seven-day Cross Check operation, which the agency described as the biggest of its type. Arrests were made across all 50 states in the US as well as in four US territories.
Among the arrested were citizens of Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic. All those arrested had been convicted of previous crimes in the US and will now be deported, said officials. They added that over 1,600 had felony convictions such as manslaughter, drug trafficking and attempted murder. Those arrested also included sex offenders and gang members, while at least 1,282 had multiple criminal convictions.
Mr Morton estimated that roughly one million illegal immigrants currently have criminal records and are subject to removal from the US. The agency stated that it deports around 390,000 people each year, about 50 per cent of them being convicted criminals.
The subject of illegal immigration is currently a much talked about political issue in the country, stated the Pew Hispanic Center. States including Georgia and Arizona have attempted to make their own laws to fight against illegal immigration, claiming that the federal government is doing very little to crack down on it.
In August the White House said that the government of the US will review its deportation list and ensure low-priority cases do not result in being thrown out of the country. Democratic congressional leaders said the move would make it easier for individuals who arrived illegally to the US as children but have now spent many years in the country to remain there an work legally.
Rick Perry, the governor of Texas and front-runner in the Republicans’ presidential nomination race to face President Obama in the election in November next year, has been accused by his own party’s members of not cracking down enough on illegal immigration.
Perry’s rivals have blasted his state policy of permitting children of illegal immigrants residing in the state to pay the same lower rates for in-state college tuition as what other Texas children pay.
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