Half-Assed Enforcement: Deportation Cases closed by 'Prosecutorial Discretion' up almost 70%

More immigrants facing deportation in immigration courts across the nation are having their court cases closed because of Obama’s prosecutorial discretion policy, researchers at Syracuse University found. 

Meanwhile, the number of removal proceedings initiated in immigration courts by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has dropped since the new policy was implemented.

In fiscal 2013, immigration courts cited the exercise of “prosecutorial discretion” (PD) as the reason to dismiss 16,306 cases.

That is a 68 percent increase from the 9,684 cases that were tossed in 2012 for the same reason. 

In total, from October 2011 when Obama’s discretion policy was implemented through December 2013, there were 28,983 PD-related closures in immigration courts across the U.S. 

The number of deportations proceedings initiated in immigration courts by ICE has also dropped since Obama’s discretion policy was implemented.

In fiscal 2013, ICE initiated 190,277 removal proceedings in immigration courts, a 21 percent drop from the 239,504 in fiscal 2011, the year prior to the beginning of prosecutorial discretion. 

Overall, the number of ICE removals has also dropped ten percent in 2013. 

ICE deportations went from a record high of 409,849 in fiscal 2012 to 368,644 last year.

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