Arrests of noncriminal immigrants more than doubled last year under the Trump administration according to a new analysis by The Washington Post. According to the report 37,734 noncriminal immigrants were detailed in 2017.
Arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials of undocumented immigrants have increased by 40% in President Trump’s first year in office. The number of immigrants who were convicted of crimes last year, 105,736, was also a small increase.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has instructed the Justice Department to enforce immigration laws more strictly, especially for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes. Undocumented immigrants who reenter the U.S. illegally after being deported will now be referred for felony prosecution, for example
Administration officials made the case in December that the erection of a border wall along the southern border would help offset some of the costs for detaining undocumented immigrants.
“If we a had a barrier, a border wall, along the southern border, it is undeniable that more of those offenses will not have to be prosecuted and that we will not have to pay to incarcerate aliens for committing such offenses along the southern border,” a senior administration official said.