DHS releases 2010 enforcement stats

The Department of Homeland Security released its 2010 Annual Report of Immigration Enforcement Actions recently. Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010 Annual Report (June 2011). The federal government removed 387,242 people in 2010, a two percent drop from 2009. Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010 Annual Report at 4.

The report identifies “dangerous drugs,” “immigration,” and “criminal traffic offenses” as the leading types of crimes for which removed individuals had been convicted. Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010 Annual Report at 4 tbl. 4. This does not necessarily mean that these individuals were removed as a result of these convictions. DHS defines anyone who has been convicted of a crime as a “criminal alien” whether or not that conviction led to removal. Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010 Annual Report at 1 n.3.

Interestingly, none of these categories is itself a category of removal found in the INA. Instead, DHS creates these categories for purposes of statistical reporting. The “dangerous drugs” category, for example, appears to include a wide swath of drug-related offenses “includ[ing] the manufacturing, distribution, sale and possession of illegal drugs.” Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010 Annual Report at 4 tbl. 4. Immigration crimes include everything from unlawful entry to smuggling. Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010 Annual Report at 4 tbl. 4.

On a related note, DHS reported that “ICE detained 363,064 aliens during 2010.” Dep’t of Homeland Security, Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2010 Annual Report at 4.