Goodlatte Statement on the Obama Administration’s Year-End Removal Numbers

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the statement below regarding the significant drop in removals for unlawful and criminal aliens in Fiscal Year 2014. Although Democrats have consistently stated that Congress appropriates funding for the removal of 400,000 unlawful and criminal aliens annually, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) only removed 315,000 people in Fiscal Year 2014. Of these removals, over 213,000 were recent border crossers apprehended by Customs and Border Protection – they were not encountered by ICE.  Only about 102,000 were actually apprehended where ICE has primary jurisdiction – in the interior of the United States. Additionally, the removal of criminal aliens decreased by 18% from last year and Level One convicted criminal removals – whom the Obama Administration deems the “worst of the worst” – dropped 15% from last year.

Chairman Goodlatte: “The Obama Administration’s abysmal immigration enforcement record for the past year confirms what we already know: it refuses to use the tools provided by Congress to enforce our laws. President Obama claims that he needs to set priorities for the enforcement of our immigration laws because he has limited resources, but he isn’t fully using the resources given to him by Congress. This year’s removal numbers impugn the President’s excuses for not enforcing our immigration laws and expose the Administration’s true motive in setting enforcement ‘priorities.’

“Additionally, for the past several years the Obama Administration has padded its already meager year-end removal numbers by including recent border crossers. This year is no different. Collectively, the President’s refusal to enforce our laws makes our communities less safe and undermines the American people’s trust in his ability to preserve the integrity of our immigration system.”