ICE Targeting More Immigrants With No Criminal Backgrounds

According to an Associated Press article, a significantly higher percentage of immigration arrests have involved individuals with no criminal backgrounds. During the final three months of the Obama administration, 82% of immigration arrests had criminal backgrounds. During these same three months in 2017, however, only 65% of arrests involved individuals with criminal backgrounds. In other words, arrests of immigrants with criminal backgrounds increased 14% in a year’s time, but arrests of immigrants with no criminal backgrounds nearly tripled. There also was a 43% increase in the total number of immigration arrests between the same three-month period in 2016 and in 2017. Although the Trump administration claims that it continues to prioritize the arrest of immigrants with criminal records, it also has clearly stated that no undocumented immigrant is immune from arrest, detention, and deportation. As a result, individuals who have lived 15 or 20 years or more in the U.S. without incident are finding themselves subject to deportation. As these individuals were not priorities under the Obama administration, they were likely to have remained in the U.S. indefinitely, assuming that they continued to have no criminal history. Consistent with this approach, John Kelly, former Homeland Security Secretary, eliminated the Obama-era policy of limiting deportations to immigrants who pose a public safety threat, convicted criminals, and those who recently crossed the border without authorization to do so. In today’s unprecedented era of immigration enforcement, more and more immigrants are becoming subject to deportation, even after years of living in the U.S. We are the California deportation defense lawyers to whom you can turn if you or a loved one are facing deportation proceedings, no matter whether you are facing criminal charges, you have a criminal conviction, or you simply have no legal status. Regardless of the complexity or difficulty of the situation, Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C. has the experience, knowledge, and skills to advocate on behalf of you and your family throughout the course of any deportation proceedings. Contact our office today and let us answer all of your questions about any aspect of deportation proceedings.