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La Opinion: Obama Has Granted a Record Low Number of Deferred Actions to Immigrants

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As we wrote last month, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been grilling Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about her Department’s deportation practices.  Grassley seems particularly agitated about the “threat” of Napolitano using prosecutorial discretion and allowing some individuals with compelling cases to delay their deportations through “deferred action.” 

Instead of calling out Sen. Grassley for his role in blocking comprehensive immigration reform, Secretary Napolitano has been trying to appease him.  In a congressional hearing, she touted her Department’s record number of deportations and the fact that her DHS has granted fewer deferred action requests than her predecessors.

Yep, you heard that right. The Obama Administration has achieved two records on immigration: deporting more people and granting fewer “deferred action” requests than Bush. 

Today, La Opinión gives us the whole scoop, and it ain’t pretty.  While deporting a record number of immigrants in 2010 (392,862 to be exact), DHS granted deferred action to only 542 individuals, a record low according to these statistics.  

Nope, that’s not a typo.  We put together this handy chart (see below), just to make sure we weren’t missing something.  According to our calculations, the Bush Administration averaged 771 deferred action grants and 301,418 deportations from 2005-2008, while the Obama Administration averaged 661 deferred action grants and 391,348 deportations its first two years in office.