Deportations of Illegals on the Rise in the Mid-South

abc24.com
Reported by: Jackie Orozco
Published: 6:25 pm

MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - The Obama administration is deporting historic numbers of undocumented immigrants, including here in the Mid-South. Of the 15,000 deported so far this year in the Mid-South, more than 9,000 were convicted of crimes. That's nearly 2,000 more than last year.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is cracking down on serious crimes committed by immigrants. ICE says some of those serious crimes include murder, rape, and drug trafficking. An immigration lawyer, Webb Brewer, told abc24.com not every undocumented immigrant is guilty of those crimes.

The "Fugitive Operations Teams" created by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement three years ago are helping with deportation efforts in the Mid-South. In 2010, 7,451 convicted criminals were deported from Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. This year, 9,249 were deported.

Webb Brewer is happy with those deportations but wants to see how many undocumented immigrants are victims of crimes. He says the majority of immigrants are not criminals.

"They came here looking for a better life like so many of our ancestors did. They contribute both in providing services and things of that sort and they pay taxes and I think that's really, really misunderstood,â€