Deportations on the rise in Florida
Deportations in Florida jump by almost 50 percent, setting a pace that likely will surpass last year's total and exceed a 10-year high mark.
Posted on Wed, Jul. 09, 2008
BY LAURA ISENSEE, CASEY WOODS AND TRENTON DANIEL
The number of immigrants deported from Florida has jumped nearly 50 percent so far this year -- signaling the federal government's continuing enforcement push after a firestorm of public opinion derailed an immigration overhaul in Congress last year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 5,889 illegal immigrants from the state in the first six months of 2008 to their home countries, including Colombia, Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico. During the same period last year, authorities deported 3,942 immigrants.
If deportations in Florida continue at this pace, they could surpass the highest level in a decade. In 2003, immigration authorities deported 7,695 people from Florida, according to the Office of Immigration Statistics.
Most likely, the deportations will intensify. Within the next month, two more teams will deploy in Florida to find and detain immigrants who have ignored final orders of deportation, officials said. The agency currently has seven fugitive operations teams in the state.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/599752.html