AlHijjah 22, 1436, Oct 6, 2015, SPA -- The Obama administration deported fewer immigrants over the past 12 months than at any time since 2006, according to government figures obtained by the Associated Press. The overall total of 231,000 deportations generally does not include Mexicans who were caught at the border and quickly returned home. Total deportations fell 42 percent since 2012. The figure does include about 137,000 convicted criminals deported in the past 12 months. Deportations of criminal immigrants have fallen to the lowest levels since President Barack Obama took office in 2009. President Obama has overseen the removal of more than 2.4 million immigrants, but deportations have been declining steadily in the last three years. Removals fell by more than 84,000 between the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years, the largest 12-month decline since 2012. The Department of Homeland Security attributes the steady drop to changing demographics at the Mexican border, specifically the increasing number of immigrants from countries other than Mexico and the spike in unaccompanied children and families caught trying to cross the border illegally in 2014.
