Deportation

Statistics

The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics shows that between 1892 and 2005, a period of 113 years, 3.5 million people were deported from the United States—1.5 million of those people were deported between 1997 and 2005. In 1995 prior to implementation of new legislation, 50,924 persons were deported. In 1997, after implementation of new and more restrictive legislation, deportations increased to 148,618 and reached 208,521 in 2005. Immigrants in the United States come from all over the world; however, the population of the deported is composed predominantly of immigrants from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

U.S. immigration statistics show variations in the rates of deportation that are influenced by social, economic, political, and cultural factors. Nonetheless, current mass deportations, rationalized as a panacea for crime control and deterrence to illegal immigration, disproportionately affect people of color. This raises the question of what stimulates current exclusionary policies and selective expulsion from the United States.

Legislative Framework

The United States is currently undergoing a period of mass deportation that began with implementation in 1996 of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The latter, applicable to noncitizens, expanded the grounds for deportation, increased the likelihood of removal, eliminated an immigration judge's ability to waive deportation, and limited judicial review in deportation cases. It also made reentry after deportation an offense punishable by a term of 2 to 20 years. These changes also restrict access to appeal. Anyone deemed an aggravated felon is barred from applying [Page 193]for a waiver of deportation. These apply to both legal permanent residents who have committed an offense (criminal law violations) and individuals who have overstayed their visas or entered illegally (administrative violations).

Prior to 1965, immigrants came predominantly from Europe. Although legislative changes occurring in 1965, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1996 have had varying effects on immigrants, the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 weakened earlier restrictions on non-White immigrants by opening immigration to persons from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments, together with broader social changes in the United States—such as a healthier economy, labor shortages, geopolitics, civil rights advocacy, greater tolerance of ethnic minorities, and the political environment—produced a demographic transformation. These changes increased the population of non-White immigrants. This shift in immigration source countries affected changing ethnicities of persons entering the United States and led to greater discussion of the relationship between race, ethnicity, and immigrant status in criminology. This shift further entrenched the racialization of immigration.

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