Thread: Deportations up 40 percent in Pacific Northwest

Friday, July 11, 2008 - Page updated at 12:55 PM

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Deportations up 40 percent in Pacific Northwest
The number of deportations for Washington, Oregon and Alaska are up by 40 percent from last year.

SEATTLE —
The number of deportations for Washington, Oregon and Alaska are up by 40 percent from last year.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say the number of illegal aliens deported from those three states was 7,345 for the first nine months of the fiscal year. That number was up from 5,256 for the same period last year.

Officials say the surge is due to a 26 percent increase in deportations of illegal aliens with criminal records. Of the 7,300 deported, more than 2,000 had prior criminal convictions.

Nationwide, the number of deportations increased from 210,000 to 234,000.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

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Thank you ICE.

Where do I find the numbers for each state? If you ask people in Alaska they say we do not have a problem with illegal aliens.

Up 40% from a low number, but I'll take whatever progress we can get.

Agents comb jails for immigrant offenders
Crackdown leads to sharp increase in deportations
PAUL SHUKOVSKY
P-I REPORTER
July 14, 2008
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reinforced by more agents in the Pacific Northwest, has been combing through more jails looking for foreign-born inmates arrested on criminal charges.

The result has been a large increase in deportations from Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

In the nine months since October, deportations have jumped 39 percent over the same period last year.

So far this fiscal year, ICE has deported 7,345 people compared with 5,256 last year.

And the number of deportees who have criminal convictions has jumped by 26 percent to 2,024 from 1,594.

Neil Clark, director of detention and removal operations for the three states, credited the spike in deportations to an increase in the number of agents dedicated to the Criminal Alien Program, in which agents specifically maintain liaison with municipal, county and state jails.

In addition to interviewing foreign-born inmates, the agents run names through ICE digital indexes to determine if inmates are wanted for ignoring a deportation order.

Foreign-born U.S. citizens are not eligible for deportation, Clark said.

But lawfully admitted, resident aliens can be deported if they have committed crimes such as an aggravated felony, more than one misdemeanor or crimes of moral turpitude.

In addition to increased staffing in the Criminal Alien Program, ICE added a Fugitive Operations team of agents in Yakima last year that searches for alien fugitives living in the community, he said.

Fugitive teams were already in place in Seattle and in Oregon.

Clark would not reveal the specific number of agents dedicated to seeking out and deporting criminal aliens.

But he said, "We've had significant increases."

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