According to a federal report released several days ago, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigration arrests and deportations have increased in fiscal year 2022 after being at a record low the previous year. The immigration enforcement division of ICE, which was established in 2003, is in charge of keeping an eye on, apprehending, holding, and deporting immigrants who are subject to removal under United States law. ICE deportation officers made over 140,000 immigration arrests and more than 72,000 deportations for fiscal year 2022, which ran from October 1st, 2021, up until September 30th, 2022. These numbers represent an increase of 93% compared to the prior fiscal year.
It is important to recognize that the agency’s arrests and deportations plunged in 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on operations and the new President Joe Biden’s administration policies which reduced the population of deportable immigrants. While the number of deportations in fiscal year 2022 is still considered the second lowest total recorded by ICE, it represents a significant increase from 2021.
Although there are a number of reasons for the increase in United States deportations in fiscal year 2022, one of the most prominent is brought on by the historically high numbers of unlawful crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border during the previous twelve months.