Deportation Review Gives Reprieves To 2,609 Immigrants

Protesters gather outside the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Charleston, S.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, to protest federal deportation policies.

WASHINGTON -- A review of about 300,000 pending deportation cases resulted in 2,609 men and women being allowed to stay in the U.S. -- at least temporarily -- as of the end of March because the government considers them low priority, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found.

The findings, based on a Freedom of Information Act request, were released on Thursday and show the scope of a review process already underway in 69 immigration courts and expanding to Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans and Orlando in coming months.

The Obama administration announced in August 2011 it would review each case on the immigration court docket and close some it deems low priority.

The program was piloted in Baltimore and Denver. But the numbers provided by the government to the Syracuse University-affiliated Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse show the administration closed cases in 69 immigration courts across the U.S.

Of the 2,609 deportation cases closed, 230 were in Baltimore, 218 were in Los Angeles and 207 were in New York City. A small percentage of the cases closed were in courts based in detention centers or processing centers.

A stated reason for the review was to stop low-level cases -- non-criminals and young people who came to the U.S. as children, for example -- from "clogging the system," senior administration officials said in August.

But the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found that the number of cases closed so far amounts to a small fraction of cases on immigration court dockets. In Baltimore, where there were 5,256 cases pending in September, closing 230 cut the caseload by less than 5 percent.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton laid out the administration's deportation priorities in a June 2011 memo. Even if an immigrant's deportation case is closed, the person could be deported at any time, especially if they commit a crime.

The Obama administration broke the record for deportations in the 2011 fiscal year, sending away 396,906 people.

See the slideshow below for some of the types of cases that could be closed based on the review process:

Related on HuffPost:

Comments

[EastBishop]

03:35 PM on 05/30/2012

What the hell is that in the picture? The Mexican flag? Fine, go back.

[RobietheCat]

01:23 PM on 04/26/2012

At this point, a vote for Obama in 2012 is a vote for Amnesty by executive fiat.

[timesrtough]

05:52 PM on 04/22/2012

I think I found a small typo error in the headline "Deportation Review Gives Reprieves To 2,609 Immigrants."
If they are looking for accuracy in reporting, they meant to say "Deportation Review Gives Reprieves To 2,609 ILLEGAL Immigrants."
That would have been accurate and truthful.
Of course if you aren't looking for accuracy and truth in reporting, then intentionally not using the word illegal is acceptable.

[spytheweb]

12:18 AM on 04/22/2012

Many of these people will be up for deportation again for the same reasons they were up for deportation the first time. If they can't work they will buy false documents to work, or drive without a license/insurance. Some will kill or murder US citizens. What has the country become that allows criminals to remain and commit more crimes?

[Brobdingnag]

07:21 PM on 04/21/2012

"the types of cases that could be closed based on the review process"

Covers just about everyone, doesn't it? Obama is making a mockery of our immigration law.

[Contact1972]

03:43 AM on 04/22/2012

He's making such a mockery of it his administration has deported immigrants in record numbers. Your comment doesn't hold any water.

[Claudia L]

10:46 AM on 04/21/2012

It would be good to send them back to their country of origin BEFORE they are impregnate.

It costs $28,000 to have a baby in my county - pre-postnatal WITHOUT complications. It costs $10 - $12,000 to educate each child for 12 years. That's $172,000 a family of 4 kids = $688,000 and that does not include food and housing. In Los Angeles alone in 2009 it costs the state over $600,000,000 in social services and medical, not including education. In 2009 340,000 children were borne to undocumented parents in the US 340,000 X $172,000 = $58,480,000,000 Just to birth and educate them and nothing else.

[OntheBorder]

03:07 AM on 04/21/2012

That is a start...only about 11.6 million to go.

All Illegal’s should be deported immediately, if their case has merit, let them return with legal status, but deport them first. The anti American pro Illegal mob wants to ignore our laws and demand that American's have no right to expect OUR laws be respected.

Deportation for all Illegal’s now.

[Claudia L]

10:38 AM on 04/21/2012

It's been 11 million for 8 years. You mean no one has snuck over the border in 8 years?

[Maggie K]

10:02 PM on 04/21/2012

Illegal immigration from the southern border is actually at a historical low and has decreased significantly in the last 5-10 years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/illegal-immigration-is-way-down-and-falling-fast/2011/07/07/gIQAgMbLXI_story.html

[Contact1972]

03:45 AM on 04/22/2012

It isn't as simple as that. For same sex binational couples as an example who are all wanting to follow the law and get in line there is literally no line to get into. This has to be fixed.

[timesrtough]

05:46 PM on 04/22/2012

Oh my God. What a national crises this is! We must stop everything else and deal with this before the world ends and we all perish.
How will we ever survive without more binational same sex couples?
We have so few and they are so important to.....What?
Thank you for alerting us to this most important issue and saving us from ....what?
Sorry buddy but this isn't even on the list and doesn't deserve to be.

[pathfinderno1]

05:22 PM on 04/20/2012

Ok i see it from another angle,70's thru the year 2000 Black men in america were pushing white men to let them in the door[Affirmtive Action]See that didn't work.Mexican workers were aloud too come and go as they please just as long as the white Employers had cheap labor[Displacing the black worker]. So The Tea Party now he has to deal with debt all across this nation, because of badly laid plans for the future of America.Prison industrial complex and the cost to house and feed and provide med services for the inmate-Cost to house non american citizens-To Feed non american citizens-Medical care for non american citizens- Hispanic voters are in some place in america out numbering Whites and Black Folk that would i think scare white folk.

[huffposer]

02:22 PM on 04/20/2012

So Obama cares more about illegals than he does Americans and legal residents? It's good to know that he plans to provide even more illegals to compete with Americans for those scarce jobs in his disastrous economy.

[Claudia L]

10:40 AM on 04/21/2012

Approximately 19% of illegal workers were employed in construction jobs, 15% in production, installation and repair, 4% in farming. The Pew report also shows that illegal immigrants comprise 24% of all workers in farming, 17% in cleaning, 14% in construction and 12% in food preparation. They represent 36% of all insulation workers, 29% of all roofers and drywall installers, and 27% of all butchers and other food-processing workers.

[herischilaw]

01:33 PM on 04/20/2012

Still a drop in the bucket compared to the overall number in the system however this is hopefully a sign that the Morton Memo criteria are being applied and taken more seriously.

[spytheweb]

09:25 PM on 04/20/2012

This policy is only temporary. What happens when these illegal aliens are picked up again? The reason they were slotted for deportation was they can't obey the law, what has changed? Nothing.

[holyghostie]

01:03 PM on 04/20/2012

What happens to illegals in Mexico?

[BeasTT]

10:54 PM on 04/20/2012

They get nothing but trouble.

[nasknit]

11:53 PM on 04/20/2012

They go to prison, and after serving their time, they are deported!

[Hoodooman]

11:15 AM on 04/20/2012

Moral of this story; Know the immigration laws of the country in which you are immigrating to.

[Klabb]

05:11 PM on 04/20/2012

Get a law degree and practice in the counrty for five years before immigrating?

[Claudia L]

10:52 AM on 04/21/2012

You don't need to study to know you are breaking the law by sneaking into a country. If YOU tried to enter a country without papers or identification you would be detained and sent back or kept at the American Embassy.

[BeasTT]

10:14 AM on 04/20/2012

So basically, less than 1% of these people got a pass ?

Not so bad actually, assuming the remaining will be deported. We can get the others later.

[mashtoe]

12:19 PM on 04/20/2012

There are 10-15 million illegals in the US. You need to re-do the math.

[BeasTT]

10:54 PM on 04/20/2012

My math is from the 300,000 reviewed, not the total amount.

[JB frm NC]

01:53 PM on 04/20/2012

You saw the list of people eligible for discretion right? DREAM Act Students, families of US military personnel, spouses and parents of citizens, same-sex couples (excluded under DOMA), children and the elderly, caretakers, asylum seekers and abuse victims, and the mentally and physically ill. You are willing to postpone kicking these folks? How merciful of you. Great Huffpost ID.

[spytheweb]

09:26 PM on 04/20/2012

DREAM Act Students? There is no dream act.

[mira chancleta]

09:25 AM on 04/20/2012

Okay...my 98 y/o grandmother remarked recently (she is a legal immigrant) of over 90 years...

"a country that does not have control of its borders has lost control of its future"

...and she has only a 3rd grade education.

[JB frm NC]

02:05 PM on 04/20/2012

What law did she enter under 90 years ago, the Emergency Quota Act of 1921? What country did she come from? That Act set no restrictions for immigration from Latina America.

The Quota Act of 1924 severely limited Central, Eastern and Southern European immigration, but granted "non-quota status" to spouses and unmarried minor children of US citizens and citizens of nations in the Western Hemisphere (and their families). "America for the Americans" meant all of the Americas.

Is that the sort of "control of the borders" you are proposing?

[spytheweb]

09:31 PM on 04/20/2012

Long ago it was a free for all, but now it's getting alittle crowded and we have to cut down on who we let in.

There was a time when a driver license wasn't needed too, but now it is. Except not for illegal aliens in California.

[nasknit]

11:52 PM on 04/20/2012

Maybe you missed the part where she came into this country LEGALLY???

[memito]

02:25 PM on 04/20/2012

She's just repeating something she heard on right wing radio or Fox news; that's what people with little education do.

[Claudia L]

11:11 AM on 04/21/2012

Immigration laws are passed to protect the people who live here FIRST. WE decide who comes here. Not some other country. FOX news has nothing to do with it.

Hispanic-origin population in the US contributed 32 percent of the Nation's population growth from 1990 to 2000, 39 percent from 2000 to 2010, 45 percent from 2010 to 2030, and will contribute 60 percent from 2030 to 2050.

2010 CENSUS extrapolation. It costs $172,000 to birth and educate one child in the public school system. This is why we have laws!

[EndTimesApostasy]

09:23 AM on 04/20/2012

We need immigration. Bring 'em on. Break the locks off the rusting factories, throw the keys on the counter, and yell: "Have at it!! We baby boomers are DONE! You young, strong bright kids, have a crack at it! Go for it! Send us your social security withholding! Don't call us, we'll call you!!!

[mashtoe]

12:16 PM on 04/20/2012

What you forget is that we had tariffs on imports back when baby boomers were working. Now that they are retired the boomers, being the most selfish people on Earth, normalized trade with communist slave labor China (under Clinton), started NAFTA (under Clinton), and began H-1B work visas. The effort was to drive down prices and crush wages for working families in America so that retired boomers could live above their incomes.

The boomers also want cheap exploitable labor so boomer have worked hard to relax enforcement of the borders.

Poverty is rising, infant mortality is rising, wages are stagnant, and the future of the US economy is uncertain. Thanks boomers! You are the worst generation.

[nasknit]

12:12 AM on 04/21/2012

This is one baby boomer who was NOT enjoying the "escapades" of the Clinton administration. Nor am I enjoying the "fruits of his labors"...Still working, and not eligible to retire for four more years. Wages frozen for last 2&1/2 years, and gas & food prices are continuing to go up! WE are not living above our incomes, & neither is anyone who did NOT sell their house, stocks, etc before the Recession hit.... My spouse is retired, and works as a volunteer coordinator for the local township, works on the twnp parks committee, works as a volunteer for county parks district (as do I), works as a volunteer (treasurer) for two 501c3 organizations (I also volunteer, but not as treasurer), volunteers for numerous horse shows, etc. WE have also volunteered for the museum center in our area, local caving events, regional rock/gem/mineral shows, collecting books for children, etc. While there are plenty of inconsiderate, selfish people, I do not label any one group, for the Worst in that group.

[nasknit]

11:50 PM on 04/20/2012

Sounds like a "great idea", until you see how much money is spent on services for illegal aliens, like FREE education, Medicaid health care, WIC, subsidized housing, food stamps, free or reduced cost meals at schools, etc.

[Claudia L]

11:14 AM on 04/21/2012

YEP! In 2009, 340,000 children were borne to undocumented parents in the US 340,000 X $172,000 = $58,480,000,000 Just to birth and educate them and nothing else.