Nearly every illegal immigrant family slated for deportation over the last six months has ignored those orders, according to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A staggering 92 percent of family members failed to appear at their deportation hearings in the months since September, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican.
He said he obtained those numbers from Ron Vitiello, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The system is broken and overwhelmed,” Mr. Graham tweeted. “It is a national emergency!”
Just met with Acting @ICEgov Director Ron Vitiello.
* If March numbers hold, we are on track for 1.2 million illegal immigrants coming into the country in 2019.
* Since September 2018, 92% of the 6,000 family members detained fail to appear at their deportation hearing.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 28, 2019
The revelation came a day after Kevin McAleenan, head of Customs and Border Protection, said the border had reached a “breaking point,” with more than 100,000 illegal immigrants projected to be nabbed this month alone.
He said things are so bad that the Border Patrol has had to reinstitute catch-and-release of illegal immigrants newly nabbed at the border.
Those who aren’t held usually disappear into the shadows, and Mr. Graham’s new numbers show they rarely turn up for their eventual court cases and deportations.
Story cited here.