Deportation of 'criminal aliens' on the rise A record number of immigrants, most with records, are removed in the Houston Area

By. SUSAN CARROLL, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Nearly eight in 10 illegal immigrants removed from southeast Texas since the start of the fiscal year had criminal records, authorities said, underscoring the Obama administration's commitment to focus its immigration enforcement strategy on so-called "criminal aliens."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from the Houston field office, which covers the southeastern portion of the state, have removed a record-setting 13,790 illegal immigrants with criminal records since the start of the fiscal year Oct. 1.
That number is slightly higher than the 13,662 removed in all of last year, the previous record.
Ken Landgrebe, head of ICE's Detention and Removal Operations in Houston, said the increase was due in part to ICE's partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies, which have signed on to help the overburdened agency identify illegal immigrants in prisons and jails.

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Posted by: Carlos T. Alfaro

Summer 2010