For three years running, the Obama administration has deported a record number of illegal immigrants, according to figures released this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. John Morton, the director of ICE, said the agency deported nearly 400,000 individuals during fiscal 2011, and that 55 percent of them had felony or misdemeanor convictions. “In the face of limited resources, we have to prioritize, and that starts with criminal offenders,” he said. Though more than 1 million undocumented immigrants have been deported since Obama took office, he has faced criticism from the GOP for not doing more and from liberals for failing to pass immigration reform.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Parthenogenesis: the miracle of 'virgin births' in the animal kingdomThe Explainer Asexual reproduction, in which females reproduce without males by cloning themselves, has been documented in multiple species
-
What will bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table?Today's Big Question With diplomatic efforts stalling, the US and EU turn again to sanctions as Russian drone strikes on Poland risk dramatically escalating conflict
-
Why social media is obsessed with cortisolIn The Spotlight Wellness trend is the latest response to an increasingly maligned hormone
