The Independent reports that everyone is fair game for deportation (removal) under the Trump administration. Arrests of undocumented immigrants have jumped compared to last year and there has also been a shift in who is being picked up for deportation.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested up 30,000 aliens more between January and September of this year compared to in 2016. ICE states that it is prioritizing aliens who pose a threat to national security or public safety. However, many of the aliens arrested had committed only immigrant-related offenses like illegally reentering the US or falsifying documents.
Of the 97,482 immigrants ICE arrested between January and September of 2017, 28,011 of them (around 28%) were non-criminals. For the same period last year, this was 16%.
One of Trump’s first executive orders overhauled how ICE agents perform their jobs and it discarded Obama-era rules prioritizing some immigrants over others. The Obama administration focused on criminal aliens and Trump’s directive sets its sights on anyone here illegally and they are all at equal risk of being deported.