A policy change on deportation is being weighed by U.S Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson (pictured). The policy would protect tens of thousands of immigrants who are living in the United States illegally but don’t have serious criminal records, according to Associated Press.
SEE ALSO: Liberian Exodus From America To Africa Began On This Day In 1878
Keep Up With Face2Face Africa On Facebook!
If adopted, the change — following a review ordered by President Barack Obama — could limit the removal of people who have little-or-no criminal record but have committed repeat immigration violations, such as re-entering the country illegally after having been deported or failing to comply with a deportation order.
Earlier on in the week, the New York Times reported that the number of court-ordered deportations of illegal immigrants in the United States had fallen 43 percent since 2009.
Figures confirmed by the Justice Department, which oversee the federal government’s immigration court system, show the Obama administration opened 26 percent fewer deportation cases in the courts last year than in 2009.
The numbers highlight the administration’s shift toward greater discretion among prosecutors on the people they seek to deport. The Times said prosecutors have increasingly offered to suspend cases of immigrants with no criminal records who had families in the United States.
The number of suspended cases rose more than 400 percent between 2011 and 2013.
Meanwhile, President Obama has come under increasing pressure from immigration advocates who have accused him of moving too slowly on reforming the nation’s immigration system. On his watch, deportations have reached 2 million.
A comprehensive immigration reform bill that would improve border security and offer a path to citizenship for the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants was approved by the Democratic-led U.S. Senate last year, but the Republican-controlled House of Representatives refused to take up the issue.
SEE ALSO: Number of Nigerian Schoolgirls Missing Increases, Parents Give Up Search Do to No Help
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has said that his little brother was subjected to racial abuse,…
Reggie Bush has regained his place as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner after over a…
Since 2012, actor Nick Cannon has openly shared his struggle with lupus to support others…
Former USC superstar Caleb Williams has been drafted by the Chicago Bears as the No.…
Stephen A. Smith is an ESPN analyst. People widely regard him as the face of…
Lil Durk is an American rapper and one of the most influential voices in the…
In 2022, Kevin Hart added a new title to his impressive resume: a tequila entrepreneur.…
AEW's latest pay-per-view, Dynasty 2024 on Sunday night saw Swerve Strickland defeat Samoa Joe to…
Renowned civil rights activist Opal Lee, known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," will be awarded…
Violet Horne lost her two sons to gun violence within the space of a month.…
An Ohio man said a K-9 bit him seven times after he was pulled over…
Three male foreign tourists who were spotted posing naked in a popular dune in Namibia…
Will.i.am is partnering with other prominent figures to revolutionize the digital media scene by forming…
Sabelle Beraki's childhood was inundated with the lack of representation when it came to a…
Benjamin Harvey is the founder of AI Squared, a third-party software company that helps organizations…