Gutierrez: Record-breaking deportation numbers 'nothing to be proud of'

The Obama administration might be touting the nearly 400,000 deportations of illegal immigrants last year as evidence that the White House is tough on enforcement and dedicated to reform, but don't try to convince Rep. Luis Gutierrez.

The Illinois Democrat – perhaps the most vocal immigrant-rights advocate on Capitol Hill – said Tuesday that the record-breaking figure is "nothing to be proud of," but instead represents "a symptom of our decades-long neglect in fixing the immigration system."

"We are deporting hundreds of thousands of people who came to the country to work, raise families, contribute to the economy, and want nothing more than to be allowed to live and work here legally," Gutierrez said in a statement. "Setting a record for deportations and incurring the huge expense of sending so many people away is nothing to be proud of as a country."

The comments were a response to new figures from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) bureau indicating that the government deported 396,906 individuals in fiscal year 2011 — the most in the agency's history. More than half of those individuals (almost 55 percent) had been convicted of felonies or misdemeanors during their stay — nearly doubling the number of criminal deportations under President George W. Bush in 2008, ICE reported.

While the administration chose to focus on the spike in criminal deportations, Gutierrez sought to highlight the other 45 percent.  

"The percentage of criminals among the deportees has risen during the Obama Administration but let's be clear," Gutierrez said. "We are still deporting a large number of parents, workers, and others who pose no threat to this country and who contribute to our economic well-being as a nation."

The Illinois liberal also argued that the administration uses a "very broad" definition of the word "criminal" – one that's "not really reflective of what most people would think of when they hear the term criminal."

Of the individuals deported last year, 1,119 had been convicted of homicide, ICE reported, while 5,848 were found guilty of sex-related crimes; 44,653 were convicted of drug offenses; and 35,927 were found guilty of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The immigration issue has been in the thorn in the side of Obama since he entered the White House nearly three years ago. On the one hand, his tough stand on deportations has threatened to alienate a key Hispanic constituency that helped him win the White House; on the other, the hike in deportations has done almost nothing to appease conservative critics, who are still hammering his administration for doing too little to enforce current laws.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused ICE on Tuesday of "cooking the books" by including "voluntary removals" and repeat deportations in its figures.

"The Obama administration continues to inflate its deportation numbers," Smith said Tuesday in a statement. "[I]n reality they are enacting amnesty through inaction."

In August, the Department of Homeland Security announced new deportation rules to halt the blanket deportation of every illegal immigrant in line for exile. Instead, DHS officials said they will look at each individual on a case-by-case basis, prioritizing violent offenders and other criminals, while closing the books on students and others considered non-threatening.

Gutierrez on Tuesday said he's still searching for evidence that those changes have taken hold.

"The announcement cannot be merely a pacifier for those of us crying out for justice and compassion," he said. "It must actually stop the deportation of those with deep roots in our country like long-term residents, DREAM Act students, military families, and immediate family of U.S. citizens."

---