‘Fugitive Backlog’ of Illegal Aliens More than 500,000, Says Department of Homeland Security

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CNSnews:


‘Fugitive Backlog’ of Illegal Aliens More than 500,000, Says Department of Homeland Security
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer


U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton speaks about immigration enforcement at a news conference in Phoenix on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010 as U.S. Marshal David Gonzales (left) and Patrick Cunningham with the U.S. Attorney's Office look on. His visit was designed in part to combat the common belief that the federal government isn't doing enough to fight illegal immigration. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)
(CNSNews.com) – As of Sunday, Sept. 5, the Department of Homeland Security had a backlog of fugitive illegal aliens totaling 506,232 people -- slightly more than the population of Sacramento, California, which currently numbers 486,189.

Fugitive illegal aliens are individuals who were apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for being in the United States illegally and then were released ahead of their court proceedings and deemed fugitive when they failed to appear in court.

Brian P. Hale, director of public affairs at ICE, was asked by CNSNews.com about the DHS’s annual report Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2009, which includes information on apprehensions and deportations but does not include data on illegal aliens who are fugitives from the law.

CNSNews.com asked if ICE could provide the number of illegal alien fugitives for FY 2009 and the number to date for 2010.

In an e-mail to CNSNews.com, Hale said the fugitive backlog as of Oct. 1, 2009 (the end of FY 2009) was 534,497. He also said that number had been reduced by 28, 265 since then, making the total fugitive backlog of illegal aliens 506,232 as of Sept. 5, 2010.