A key Mexican official said Thursday that President Donald Trump has deported significantly fewer Mexican illegal immigrants than former President Barack Obama did.
Humberto Roque Villanueva, Mexico’s deputy interior minister for migration, population, and religious affairs, said that while there was an initial fear of the “famous mass deportation,” the numbers have not played out that way, according to Televisa.
“In fact, there has been a reduction in deported Mexicans,” Villanueva stated. He said that around 29,000 fewer Mexicans have been deported under Trump compared to the same time period in Obama’s final year in office. The Mexican government minister said that due to this he thinks Mexican illegal immigrants won’t experience a “mass deportation.”
Immigration arrests are up nearly 40 percent during the Trump administration, while deportations are down. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Thomas Homan said two weeks ago that deportations have declined by 12 percent. Illegal immigrants arrested within the country have to undergo legal proceedings before being deported, which takes time. Immigration courts currently have an all-time high backlog, with some hearings scheduled for 2021.
A directive from Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly called for illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. for less than two years to be deported without a court hearing. This has yet to be implemented.