REMOVALS IN FISCAL YEAR 1999 REACH NEW RECORD

During fiscal year 1999 (which is October 1998 through September 1999), the INS removed 176,990 people from the US, a three percent increase over 1998.  Of those removed, 62,359 had been convicted of crimes while in the US and 114,631 were deported for other reasons.  The number of criminal aliens removed grew 12% from 1998.  Convictions of drug related offenses accounted for 47% of the convictions that led to removals.  Fiscal year 1998 saw 89,035 people removed from the US by the expedited removal process, an increase of 16% from the previous year.

One reason the INS gives for the increased numbers of criminal aliens removed is the Institutional Removal Program (IRP).  The IRP is a combined effort of the INS and participating state and federal correctional agencies to identify criminal aliens while they are still serving their sentences so they may be removed without reentering society.  The IRP accounted for 19,592 of the criminal aliens removed during 1999.

The INS also removed 9,283 people by administrative processes.  The people removed in this way have been convicted of aggravated felonies and are not legal permanent residents and are not eligible for any form of relief from removal.  This number was almost double the number in 1998.

Approximately 1.5 million people were apprehended at US borders during 1999 and voluntarily returned to their home country.  Another 72,000 people within the US were allowed voluntary departure. 

While the number of people removed from the US continues to grow, the increase from 1998 to 1999 was not nearly as great as that seen from 1997 to 1998, when the number of people removed doubled from one year to the next.  According to one INS spokesperson, the reason removals did not continue their rapid increase is Hurricane Mitch and the temporary protected status given nationals of many Central American countries in the US.

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