Homeland Security Deported Less Than 3 Percent of Illegal Aliens in U.S. in 2009

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CNSnews:


Homeland Security Deported Less Than 3 Percent of Illegal Aliens in U.S. in 2009
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported 298,410 illegal aliens in fiscal 2009, only 2.98 percent of the 10 million people it estimated were in the United States illegally.

The number of deportations in fiscal 2009 was far less than the 400,000--or 4 percent--that John Morton, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said his agency was capable of deporting each year.

In a June memorandum, Morton spelled out why ICE had to prioritize its efforts to fulfill its mission of enforcing U.S. immigration law, including “the apprehension, detention and removal of aliens.”

Morton said ICE’s mission had “direct significance for our national security, public safety, and the integrity of our border and immigration controls.” But, Morton also said ICE’s ability to remove aliens was hampered by a lack of resources.

“ICE ... only has resources to remove approximately 400,000 per year, less than 4 percent of the estimated illegal alien population in the United State,” Morton said in the memo.