Immigration Crackdown: Deporting the Lowest-Level Offenders

Deporting the Lowest-Level Offenders: "Policies like the Criminal Alien Program and Secure Communities gave local and federal officials powers to work together as they never had before. These policies were meant to target undocumented immigrants or potential terrorists who would otherwise slip through the cracks, and immigration officials had a mandate to concentrate on deporting the highest risks to 'national security, public safety and border security.'

Instead, ... newly released internal data from the the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit, or ICE, shows that 60 percent of 'removals' between October 2008 and February 2011 were of individuals who had either no criminal background or were in the lowest priority category for removals -- i.e. individuals ... who had a past violation for an old crime." American Prospect