The 'massive' crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants: By the numbers

The feds make good on Obama's promise that immigration authorities will focus on finding and deporting serious criminals

A special agent for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(Image credit: JEFF TOPPING/Reuters/Corbis)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had a big week, arresting nearly 3,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal records in a nationwide operation called "Cross Check." The "massive" crackdown is the largest such sweep yet, according to ICE Director John Morton. It's also the most visible consequence of the Obama administration's August decision to focus ICE's limited resources on illegal immigrants with serious criminal histories instead of those whose only crime was entering the U.S. without permission. "This is what we should be doing; this is good law enforcement," said Morton. Here's a look at who ICE rounded up, by the numbers:

11 million

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