The Trump administration announced this week plans to greatly broaden the scope of criminal illegal aliens who will be declared a priority for deportation. But a check of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statistics reveals the administration has a lot of work to do just to catch up with the existing deportation orders. According to figures provided to Congress from ICE and reported by the Washington Examiner, as of last May there were more than 950,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S. with standing deportation orders, and only 11,000 of them---about one percent---were in custody.
Even last week's ICE sweeps that netted about 680 arrests amounted to 0.7 percent of the number on the agency's deportation list. Author and activist John Zmirak, senior editor of The Stream, tells KTRH it's time for a major enforcement effort. "Giving anything like an amnesty is just like a green light for millions more to come to America illegally, and the whole problem starts all over again," he says. The Trump administration estimates there are some 3 million illegal aliens in the country with criminal records in addition to their illegal status.
Zmirak is hoping President Trump will ignore the pro-amnesty voices in both major parties and stick to his campaign promises when it comes to deporting illegals and securing the border. "If we're going to give up the effort to enforce our own immigration laws, we need to get something real serious and tangible in return," he says. "If people still want to do something about this question, then I think they need to let Trump know that they are going to hold his feet to the fire."