ImmigrationObama’s executive order has been postponed, but U.S. deportation rate has already dropped

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deport ed 258,608 immigrants between the start of the fiscal year 2014 (1 October 2013) and 28 July 2014, a 20 percent decrease from the same period in fiscal 2013, when 320,167 immigrants were sent back to their home countries.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama announced plans to act without congressional support to slow deportations, but he has now postponed any major changes to immigration enforcement until after November’s elections. The Star-Tribune reports that that the delay is an effort to shield vulnerable Democrats from voters angry at Obama for his unilateral actions on immigration.

According to USNews & World Report, since Obama took office, 2.1 million immigrants have been deported, but fewer immigrants are being sent back home because of the White House’s decision in 2011 to focus deportation efforts mainly on immigrants who pose a threat to national security or public safety. Since then, immigrants who entered the United States illegally or overstayed their visas have been placed on stand-by in the federal immigration court system. Court data analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University show that as of last month, over 400,000 deportation cases were pending in the court system. Most cases require several years for a judge to issue a final order of deportation.

Border Patrol agents have also been overwhelmed by the thousands of Central American migrants who cross the southern border, fleeing violence and human trafficking. As opposed to Mexican migrants who illegally cross the border for work or to join their families in the United States, Central American migrants cannot be asked to walk back into Mexico. U.S. law prohibits the removal of Central American children who may be trafficking victims without a court order, and as a result thousands of migrants have been housed in temporary holding facilities as they await trial. As the facilities become overpopulated, DHS officials have had to release many people into the U.S. interior with orders to report back for immigration hearings.

To date, only 319 of more than 59,000 Central American migrants who were caught crossing into the United States, have been returned to Central America. White House spokesman Josh Earnest notes that shifting resources from the U.S. interior to the border have led to the decreased deportation numbers.

Obama has expressed his commitment for allowing undocumented immigrants, who have been in the United States for several years and have children or strong foundations, to “have a path to get legal by paying taxes and getting aboveboard, paying a fine, learning English if they have to.”

While Obama cannot grant large groups of immigrants permanent residency or citizenship, he could issue work permits which would allow them to work, obtain driver’s licenses, and file tax returns.