ICE non-criminal detentions fell for 3 months
By SUZANNE GAMBOA 02/12/10 at 6:01 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — A decline in detentions of immigrants without criminal records led to an overall drop in the detention population late last year, a data research group reported Friday.

Roughly one in four immigration detainees — or 27 percent — had criminal records between October 2008 and September 2009, the Syracuse University-based Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported.

But the number of immigrants with criminal convictions increased to about four of 10 — or 43 percent — between October and December 2009 and is trending upward, according to TRAC.

There was no increase in the overall number of detainees with criminal arrests. The numbers are tracked by fiscal year, which is a 12-month period beginning on Oct. 1.

ICE told TRAC it agreed with the findings, but says more complete data shows a modest increase in the detention of immigrants with criminal records.

That data has not yet been provided to TRAC, which is a nonpartisan data research group supported by numerous foundations and based at Syracuse University in New York.

[b]ICE spokesman Brian Hale said the agency is focused on immigration enforcement that “focuses first on those dangerous criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities.â€