Center for Investigative Reporting

The number of people facing deportation because of criminal charges has declined steadily the past three fiscal years, according to data released by the U.S. Justice Department.

Instead, in California and beyond, a growing number are accused only of entering the United States without permission.

The Obama administration has pledged to focus its immigration enforcement on “criminal aliens,” illegal immigrants who’ve been convicted or accused of serious crimes. At the front of this effort, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed the Secure Communities program. The initiative is installing the federal immigration database in every jail in the nation so that when police scan arrestees’ fingerprints, a computer checks their residency status. Read more.

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