Thread: U.S. Immigration cases at record levels in 2009

Immigration cases at record levels in 2009

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 3:01 p.m.

WASHINGTON— Immigration prosecutions rose to record levels in 2009 as the Obama administration kept up aggressive enforcement that began under President George W. Bush.

Nearly 27,000 people faced serious federal charges relating to immigration in 2009, according to Chief Justice John Roberts' annual year-end report on the judiciary. More than three-fourths were accused of illegally re-entering the United States after having been sent home before.

Immigration cases increased by about a fifth over the previous year and made up a third of all new criminal filings in U.S. district courts in the government spending year that ended Sept. 30. The statistics were compiled by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Wendy Sefsaf, spokeswoman for the pro-immigrant Immigration Policy Center, said she expects the number of prosecutions to remain high until Congress passes a law that gives the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants a way to remain in the United States legally.

"Can we really afford to be spending this kind of time and money locking up people who essentially have come here to work?" Sefsaf said.

Roberts's brief report, with no commentary on the numbers, broke with a nearly 40-year tradition of chief justices highlighting the needs of the federal judiciary. Instead, Roberts said the courts "are operating soundly" and tacked on a summary of their caseloads.

He also noted that increases in fraud, marijuana trafficking and sex crimes cases helped push the number of criminal cases to the highest level since 1932, the year before the repeal of Prohibition.

The number of cases excludes less serious crimes that are handled by federal magistrate judges. In 2008, there were nearly 80,000 immigration cases in all, including those dealt with by magistrate judges, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a private group at Syracuse University.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009 ... s-in-2009/

"aggressive enforcement" hardly. In fact, the exact opposite. More sloppy and unprofessional reporting from the Associated Press.

RELATED

As of the end of September 2009, ICE removed 387,000 illegal aliens from the country,
including 136,000 who were convicted of crimes in the U.S.
387,000 illegal aliens removed in F.Y. 2009
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0912/091217washington.htm
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-182539-ice.html+removes


111,000 Criminal Aliens Identified by ICE in 2009
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177810.html


34,600 Criminal Illegal Aliens IDed in Florida
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177991.html


24,000 criminal illegal aliens IDed in AZ.
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177989.html


8,700 criminal illegal aliens located in the L.A. County jails
during the last two months
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177905.html


6,000 Criminal Illegal Aliens found in San Diego County jails
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-177988.html


I.C.E. arrest nearly 300 foreigners with criminal records
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-181146.html

Wow, a whole 27,000. Isn't that about the number of illegals that come in a day or two?

RELATED

10-year high in prosecution of criminal immigrants CA.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-182712.html

Here's some more facts on the (non-aggressive) alleged "aggressive enforcement" policies of the Obama administration:

DHS data released in November show that administrative arrests of immigration law breakers fell by 68 percent between 2008 and 2009. The department also carried out 60 percent fewer arrests for criminal violations of immigration laws, 58 percent fewer criminal indictments, and won 63 percent fewer convictions.

Furthermore, DHS alleges to have “effective controlâ€

RELATED

Dallas case underscores gaps in illegal re-entry prosecutions

Illegal re-entry prosecutions edged out drug cases as the most frequent charge filed in the Northern District of Texas last fiscal year, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research organization that analyzes federal prosecutions.

Nationwide, immigration prosecutions, including for illegal re-entry, made up more than half of all federal criminal cases filed around the U.S., researchers said.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-183608.html

RELATED

Tightening up at the border
Strict new travel restrictions leading to more arrests at border entries

In the months following the implementation of new travel-document requirements at U.S. land and sea port of entries last June, there was a spike in the number of people arrested along the southern border posing as U.S. citizens, customs officials say.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-183620.html

[quote="Populist"]Here's some more facts on the (non-aggressive) alleged "aggressive enforcement" policies of the Obama administration:

DHS data released in November show that administrative arrests of immigration law breakers fell by 68 percent between 2008 and 2009. The department also carried out 60 percent fewer arrests for criminal violations of immigration laws, 58 percent fewer criminal indictments, and won 63 percent fewer convictions.

Furthermore, DHS alleges to have “effective controlâ€

Immigration Convictions for July 2009

The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during July 2009 the government reported 7649 new immigration convictions. ...
(Lots of charts and graphs at this link:)

trac.syr.edu/tracreports/bulletins/immigration/monthlyjul09/gui/