Thread: Immigration officials report 15 percent rise in removals

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...gion-apnewyork

November 10, 2005, 5:38 PM EST


BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Immigration officials in Buffalo deported 1,918 people, including 1,300 criminals and more than 600 immigration violators, during the past year, 15 percent more than the previous year, according to figures released Thursday.

Authorities credited a new program at the region's federal detention facility in Batavia that allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to identify deportable criminals serving time in New York prisons and send them away once they complete their sentences.

"The deportations from the Buffalo area of operations include some of the worst criminals in New York state," said William Cleary, ICE's detention and removal director in Buffalo.

Also during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Buffalo Fugitive Operations team arrested 221 people who failed to leave the country when ordered. Those who do not obey removal orders from an immigration court are considered fugitives, Cleary said.

"The deportations from the Buffalo area of operations include some of the worst criminals in New York state," said William Cleary, ICE's detention and removal director in Buffalo

Don't worry Agent Cleary. THEY'LL BE BACK.[/quote]