By Natalia Castro
When illegal immigration surged in 2014, President Obama and his administration were entrusted with handling the situation to ensure the safety and security of the American people. Yet two years later, illegal immigration levels have once again reached 2014’s peaks, and over 50,000 of the illegal immigrants of 2014 are still in the country due to President Obama’s delayed deportations.
According to the New York Times on Oct. 7, “The Obama administration is delaying deportation proceedings for recent immigrants in cities across the United States, allowing more than 56,000 of those who fled Central America since 2014 to remain in the country legally for several more years…some until 2023.”
This comes atop Obama’s executive amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants with U.S.-born children.
The delay has been seen as a “cost saving measure” since these individuals were supposed to be involved in an electronic monitoring program yet have been allowed to go free, saving 4 to 8 dollars per person per day. However, they did not go free because the Obama administration vetted these individuals for protection, but rather due to many immigrant’s failure to report to courts in order to receive the ankle bracelets.
While illegal immigrants who reported to court will still have an expedited deportation, many illegal immigrants will continue to have their cases delayed. Additional problems include an inadequate amount of available representation due to extensive waiting lists. While many legal representatives are already busy with delayed cases, this exacerbates the cycle of delays and chaos within the courts.
Eleni Wolfe-Roubatis, the immigration program director at the Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, Calif., a legal services agency for immigrants told the New York Times that dozens of her cases had been pushed back as late as 2020 preventing her from adding additional cases to her workload.
The most significant impact of the Obama administration’s failed immigration control plan is that the quick reaction and expedited departures of illegal immigrants from the 2014 surge was meant to serve as a deterrent to further illegal immigration.
Not only are most cases no longer being expedited allowing unvetted illegal immigrants to remain in the country for years, but immigration has also reached 2014 levels over the course of 2016. U.S. Customs and Border Protection finds that this year the number of illegal immigrants entering the country will likely exceed 2014 numbers.
Most concerning is that during the 2014 surge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that 56 percent of all immediate removals made of individuals attempting to enter the United States were previously convicted criminals, 85 percent of all interior removals immediately made were also criminals. With no clear information on the individuals consistently missing court appearances, it is unknown how many more have criminal history or intent.
In 2014 President Obama claimed he had the presidential authority to handle the immigration catastrophe and prevent future dilemmas, however in 2016 the problem has resurged and the Presidents administration has yet to deal with the last group.
Natalia Castro is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government.
