Deportations from SD area nearly doubled

Around 33,000 expelled in last fiscal year

The United States deported a record of nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants in the last fiscal year, which included 33,006 expelled from San Diego County, also a record, new figures show.

The local number nearly doubled from the previous fiscal year, when 18,086 were deported from an area that includes the Imperial Valley.

The San Diego office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had the third most deportations, under San Antonio (63,000) and El Paso (36,000).

The figures were released this week by ICE and cover the period from Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011. They are sure to further fan passions on all sides of the political spectrum, from GOP presidential candidates who blast the Obama Administration for not doing enough to discourage illegal immigration to leading Latino organizations that condemn his government for stepping up deportations without advancing immigration reform.

The new figures indicate that nearly half of the 33,006 migrants deported from the San Diego region, 14,412, had a criminal conviction.

In August, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano stressed that the agency gave "maximum priority" to deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

That announcement came in response from Latino advocates who criticized the administration for deporting undocumented immigrants convicted of minor offenses years ago who posed little threat to the country.

In the last fiscal year, of the 396,906 deported nationwide, nearly 55 per cent, or 216,698 people, had a criminal record, according to the new figures. The crimes included a wide range of offenses, including rape, homicide, drug offenses and DUIs, the agency said.

The rest were deported for being in the country without authorization.

The president of a national organization that advocates for immigrants was troubled by the way the administration defined who was a criminal.

"Someone who committed a minor offense, for instance solely entering the country illegally, is now considered a federal criminal," said Pedro Rios, who leads the American Friends Service Committee.

Rios said the increase in San Diego-area deportations was the result of the stepped up presence of immigration authorities in cities such as Escondido, and their greater coordination with municipal police departments.

He said his organization's San Diego office received more reports in the last year of local police departments working with immigration authorities, particularly in detention centers.

"As a result, there was more fear in the community and less trust of police," he said.

The latest figures show that the Obama Administration has deported a total number of 1,179,602 since taking office.

Alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com

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