There are approximately 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the United States who have been ordered deported by federal immigration judges, Fox News has revealed.
Of those ordered to be returned to their home countries, about 13,000 are being held by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), according to U.S. officials.
Only a few thousand people are in detention, and many more remain in the United States illegally despite deportation orders. Figures were not available on how many people were held in local or state custody.
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ICE and ERO officers detained one of 216 illegal immigrants convicted of drug trafficking or drug possession. About 1.4 million illegal immigrants have been ordered deported in the United States, according to U.S. officials. (Todd Packard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE))
The 1.4 million figure means people who have been deported have had their immigration cases heard and decisions made. Officials say an appeal option may still be available to some people.
The numbers also go back years, across multiple presidential administrations, and have changed as some undocumented immigrants have been ordered deported and others have been deported.
President-elect Trump has promised to carry out mass deportations, initially focusing on criminal illegal immigrants, when he takes office on January 20th. Texas is offering the incoming administration more than 1,400 acres of land in the Rio Grande Valley near the border. It becomes the stage for a mass deportation operation.
'Shut it down': Red states buy large tracts of land to shore up border wall efforts amid migrant surge
This file photo shows a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer. (Reuters)
In response to President Trump's promise, some cities have vowed to protect undocumented immigrants from such raids and not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles city leaders voted to formally adopt a sanctuary city ordinance in opposition to President Trump. Minutes after the vote at City Hall, the Los Angeles Unified School District also approved a vote to become a sanctuary school district. This means school district employees will be prohibited from voluntarily complying with immigration authorities, including sharing information about students' immigration status.
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For years, ICE has repeatedly accused sanctuary city jurisdictions of not cooperating with immigration authorities, especially when illegal immigrant criminals reoffend or commit serious crimes after being released from local custody. Ta.
