- Posts: 2915
- Thank you received: 3
Read the rest of the story hereIn the past three years, the number of county-jail inmates whom deputies suspect of being in the country illegally has dropped by nearly 40 percent, from 16,337 in 2008 to 9,894 in 2010.
The trend in Maricopa County is at odds with a national trend that has shown an increase in deportations of undocumented immigrants in the same time frame. However, experts nationwide offered several explanations for the decrease and its seeming contradictions:
- Fewer people in general are committing crimes that land them in Maricopa County jail. The average number of inmates in county custody fell by 13 percent during the same time period as the 40 percent drop in immigration holds.
The number of immigrants living in Arizona without authorization has decreased, meaning police encounter fewer "criminal aliens" - undocumented immigrants who, after crossing the border, have committed serious crimes that would land them in county jail.
- Even as local police encounter fewer illegal immigrants, federal officials have stepped up immigration-law-enforcement efforts through a variety of programs that can lead to the deportation of illegal immigrants who have not committed serious crimes after crossing the border
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
AspenValley wrote: I can't help but wonder if the dropping numbers have more to do with a tanking economy (especially in the housing industry) than Rambo-esque law enforcement.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.