Only 2 Percent Of Migrants Facing Deportation In February Had Criminal Records: Report

Despite the Trump administration's assertions that it is targeting the "worst of the worse" in its immigration enforcement efforts, the vast majority of those detained and deported in February did not criminal records, according to a new report.

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University found that only two percent of immigrants detained in February faced deportation because of criminal activity. That two percent amounted to 741 cases.

"The remaining 98 percent of NTAs (Notice To Appear) involved claimed violations of immigration rules such as entry without inspection or overstaying a visa to justify asking an Immigration Judge to enter a removal order," TRAC stated on its website.

"TRAC has tracked NTA filings over the past quarter century, and the data reveal a dramatic decline, both in the number and proportion of new Immigration Court cases citing criminal-related grounds as the basis for seeking removal," the organization stated.

According to TRAC, the high point of deportations based on criminal behavior or associations occurred during the Obama administration in March 2010. That month, 4,000 individuals received NTAs related to immigration enforcement efforts based on criminal charges. By comparison, this February the number was 741.

"These results add to the growing body of evidence that despite the current Trump administration's rhetoric about targeting the 'worst of the worst,' its deportation enforcement is increasingly focused on noncitizens without criminal records," TRAC stated.

Originally published on IBTimes