Immigration arrests increased under President Trump while deportations decreased, according to 2017 year-end statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.
This year's statistics reveal that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers conducted 143,470 arrests, a 25 percent increase from the number of arrests in 2016. Trump campaigned on an immigration crackdown and members of his administration view these year-end numbers as fulfilling that promise.
While immigration arrests increased overall, border arrests hit a 17-year low. DHS recorded a total of 310,531 apprehensions — 98 percent of which were made along the Southwest border, ABC News reported. Meanwhile, ICE officers removed approximately 226,000 people from the country, translating to 6 percent fewer deportations in 2017 than in 2016, Reuters said.
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“Overall, removals are down because the border is under better control than it has been in 45 years,” Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan said at a press conference Tuesday.
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