Nov 6, 2:18 PM EST

Deportations reaching record numbers in Northwest

SEATTLE (AP) -- Immigration officials say more than 10,000 illegal aliens were deported in the last year from Washington, Oregon and Alaska - breaking a record for the region.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 10,602 aliens were deported to their home countries between October 2007 and November 2008 - a jump of more than 35 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.

The spike in deportations reflects the continuing nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration by ICE and other federal agencies. Nationwide, the number of deportations in the period increased from 290,000 to more than 345,000, about a 17 percent increase.

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