Secure Communities and ICE Deportation:
A Failed Program?

An examination of millions of deportation records since the launch of Secure Communities — a massive government surveillance program — shows that this continuing effort has not increased the removal of its primary announced targets: non-citizens who have committed crimes other than minor violations. In fact, the number of such individuals deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has actually declined over the last four years.

This first report in a new series by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) provides detailed information about the changing makeup of those who have been deported as a result of various enforcement initiatives — foremost of which has been Secure Communities, launched by ICE in 2008 towards the end of the Bush Administration.

Secure Communities is an ambitious national program under which millions of fingerprint records submitted to the FBI by local law enforcement agencies are passed along to ICE. At that point, the immigration agency issues "detainers" for those that ICE wants the local organizations to hold and then turn over to it. (According to ICE it has already reviewed 32 million fingerprint records through this program.) The broad failure of Secure Communities to achieve its stated goals has been masked by sharp increases in the deportation of those whose most serious conviction was for an immigration violation or traffic offense.

Background

TRAC's analysis of ICE's case-by-case records on deportation shows that in FY 2013 only 12 percent of all deportees had been found to have committed a serious or "Level 1" offense based on the agency's own definitions. These agency definitions were established to identify individuals who pose a serious threat to public safety or national security so that as a first priority it could focus its limited resources on their location and removal.

Table 1. ICE Deportations in FY 2013
Most Serious
Criminal Conviction*
Number
None 151,833
Immigration** 53,259
Traffic 47,249
Other 62,139
Serious (Level 1) 43,090
* An additional 11,074 non-serious convictions with unknown charge are not included.
** to avoid double counting 1,553 immigration offenses for smuggling aliens and trafficking in fraudulent immigration documents included only in serious category.


Figure 1. ICE Deportations in FY 2013

But in stark contrast to these policies, the most serious charge for fully half of the total was an immigration or traffic violation.

More particularly, for almost one quarter (22.7 percent) of those with any conviction at all in FY 2013, the most serious offense was illegal entry (8 USC 1325). This is classified as a petty misdemeanor under the federal criminal code.

The report that follows is based on an analysis of ICE records of 2.3 million deportations from FY 2008 through FY 2013. These records were obtained by TRAC at Syracuse University through dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests.

In the report we examine ICE's contention that the administration has, within its resource constraints, met with a high degree of success in achieving its objective of deporting "convicted criminals." Presented here for the first time is a very detailed examination of the composition of the group that ICE has labeled as "criminals." A shorter companion report provides a profile of recent ICE deportees by their age, gender, and country of citizenship.

Terminology in this area can be confusing. So at the offset it is important to clarify exactly which "deportations" are covered in this report and which are not.

First, because we are using ICE records, we of necessity follow that agency's definition, which counts all formal "removals" as well as the more nebulous concept of any "returns." With a removal there is a formal order — either issued by a judge or administratively by an ICE agent — that not only requires that the individual leave the country but bars the individual from returning to the U.S. for a period of years (sometimes for life). With returns, an individual leaves the country but is not legally barred from reentry. Indeed, for some returns, the individual may have simply decided to leave the country for personal reasons. ICE then reviews passenger manifests (from commercial flights for example) and includes in its deportation counts individuals it flags from these lists[1].

Second, because we are using ICE data, only some of the Border Patrol apprehensions resulting in deportations are covered[2]. While ICE has been assigned the responsibility of maintaining the integrated database system used by both the Border Patrol agents of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as well as by ICE personnel to track their own enforcement activities, ICE thus far has refused to cooperate with Customs and Border Protection to make a joint release from this enforcement integrated database (EID) system so that overall ICE/Border Patrol counts could be examined. Thus, the focus of this report is on ICE deportations alone — that is, deportations in which ICE played some role.

FY 2008 - FY 2013: Obama versus Bush

ICE currently uses an exceedingly broad definition of criminal behavior: even very minor infractions are included. For example, anyone with a traffic ticket for exceeding the speed limit on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway who sends in their check to pay their fine has just entered ICE's "convicted criminal" category. If the same definitions were applied to every citizen — rather than just to noncitizens — available evidence (see TRAC's February 2012 report) suggests that the majority of U.S. citizens would be considered convicted criminals. (Obviously, many individuals who engage in such illegal behaviors are never ticketed or charged.) Indeed, if truth be known it is likely that almost everyone — members of the public and government officials alike — would have to admit that they have engaged in "criminal" behavior as ICE uses that term.

This report probes beneath the label to examine what offenses these so-called "convicted criminal" deportees have committed. ICE records the nature of criminal charges in its deportation records at two levels of detail. In the first level, which we examine in this section, offenses are grouped under general headings such as homicide, burglary, assault, drugs, traffic and so forth. The agency then classifies deportees into these charge classes based upon their criminal conviction. If individuals have more than one conviction, the category used corresponds with their most serious conviction.

TRAC examined how the number of ICE deportees in each of these offense classes had changed over time. Data were compiled by TRAC for the last six years — fiscal years 2008 through 2013[3]. This spans the last full year of the Bush administration through the first five years of the Obama administration. (See earlier TRAC report for a comparison of ICE removals for FY 2005 through the first 9 months of FY 2010.)

This is also the same period that spans the period from just before the Secure Communities program was launched under President Bush in October 2008 (the beginning of FY 2009) to its extension to virtually all jurisdictions across the nation — some 3,181 — by the end of fiscal year 2013. According to the agency, Secure Communities was primarily launched to increase ICE's ability to find and deport noncitizens who had committed serious crimes.



Figure 2. Changes in the Number of ICE Deportations by Charge Category, FY 2008 - FY 2013

The data show that ICE deportations were about the same last year as they were just before the Secure Communities program was launched. (There had been a steady rise up until FY 2012, but last year deportations declined back to their 2008 level.) What has increased fairly dramatically are the numbers for those that ICE has classified "convicted criminals." See Figure 2 and Table 2. Between FY 2008 and FY 2013, their numbers rose by 87 percent. During FY 2008, ICE reported deporting 115,727 individuals with some type of conviction, while starting in FY 2011 the agency has been reporting deporting over two hundred thousand annually.

Table 2. Changes in the Number of ICE Deportations by Charge Category, FY 2008 - FY 2013
Most Serious
Criminal Charge
Category
FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 % Change
(FY 2013
vs FY 2008)
Total Deportations 369,221 389,834 392,862 396,906 409,849 368,644 0%
With Criminal Conviction 115,727 139,332 195,772 216,698 225,390 216,810 87%
Immigration 20,502 21,268 36,549 40,300 45,036 54,812 167%
Traffic Offenses 16,249 27,254 42,339 56,989 51,504 47,249 191%
Drug Offenses 36,053 38,269 45,003 44,651 42,202 41,335 15%
Assault 8,011 9,878 13,339 14,324 13,153 13,445 68%
Other 5,017 7,745 12,935 12,965 12,249 11,422 128%
Larceny 3,589 4,468 6,205 6,766 5,482 5,162 44%
Burglary 3,410 3,894 4,612 4,193 3,669 3,608 6%
Fraudulent Activities 2,208 3,000 4,469 4,841 3,674 3,457 57%
Robbery 3,188 3,284 3,808 3,886 3,436 3,341 5%
Sexual Assault 2,982 2,811 3,379 3,666 3,384 3,325 12%
Weapon Offenses 2,162 2,391 3,072 3,014 2,537 2,788 29%
Obstructing the Police 895 1,481 2,199 2,765 2,350 2,266 153%
Forgery 2,140 2,584 3,141 3,246 2,567 2,228 4%
Family Offenses 2,266 2,763 3,854 3,532 2,348 2,198 -3%
Sex Offenses* 1,795 1,895 2,556 2,183 2,072 2,050 14%
Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, Etc. 796 1,090 1,720 2,053 1,711 1,618 103%
Stolen Vehicle 1,749 1,805 2,052 1,701 1,494 1,275 -27%
Homicide 908 970 1,066 1,119 1,180 1,172 29%
Kidnapping 567 576 768 895 1,095 1,058 87%
Stolen Property 636 1,126 1,521 1,324 1,088 973 53%
Commercialized Sexual Offenses 324 472 793 845 786 653 102%
Arson 122 125 143 92 64 121 -1%
Extortion 54 70 68 40 26 57 6%
Embezzlement 56 47 85 76 57 48 -14%
Gambling 6 23 42 29 26 31 417%
Tax Revenue 13 15 23 14 28 27 108%
Bribery 29 28 31 27 26 17 -41%
No charge information available** 0 0 0 1,162 22,146 11,074  
* Excludes sexual assault and commercialized sex offenses.
** Case-by-case ICE deportation records available for FY 2012 - FY 2013 do not record these individuals as ever convicted while ICE reported these additional individuals had been convicted of a non-serious offense. TRAC used the higher total for the number convicted published by ICE but didn't attempt to estimate how much larger traffic and other non-serious violation counts should be to reflect these cases. Similarly, conviction counts for FY 2008 - FY 2010 include individuals ICE previously reported as never convicted but then switched to the convicted column in later revised counts. See footnote 3 and footnote 4.

However, not all offense categories experienced this same degree of growth. The number of deportees convicted of some offense types changed very little or actually declined.

For example, the number of deportees convicted of vehicle theft was down by 27 percent. Robbery, burglary and forgery categories saw only a small increase — up 4 to 6 percent over this six year period. Although their numbers were small, declines also occurred for individuals convicted of arson (down 1 percent), embezzlement (down 14 percent) and bribery (down 41 percent).

At the other extreme, two large categories that ICE has classified as convicted criminals shot way up: those with a traffic violation (up 191 percent) and individuals convicted of immigration offenses (up 167 percent).

These two groups already made up a large proportion of deportees in FY 2008. During that year, the last full year of the Bush administration, these two offense categories were the most serious conviction for one third (32 percent) of "criminal" deportees[4]. Only drug offenses in 2008 surpassed the number in either of these two categories. See earlier Table 2.

By last year, the number of deportees whose most serious conviction was an immigration violation (typically the petty misdemeanor of illegal entry) had risen to 54,812; the count of those with just a traffic violation was 47,249. Together, as shown in Figure 3, these two categories comprised half of all those classified by ICE as "criminal" deportees. In addition, their growing numbers had surpassed the number of deportees convicted of drug offenses, which had fallen to third place with 41,335 deportees.



Figure 3. Increasing Proportion of Deportees with Immigration and Traffic Offenses
as Their Most Serious Criminal Conviction, FY 2008 - FY 2013

FY 2010 to FY 2013: Nationwide Expansion of Secure Communities

Few jurisdictions were covered by Secure Communities before 2010. As shown in Figure 4 and Table 3, the number of jurisdictions covered by the program rapidly expanded beginning in FY 2010. Thus, the program's real impact should be observable only during the last four years.


Figure 4. Expansion in Jurisdictions Covered by Secure Communities

Table 3. Expansion in Jurisdictions
Covered by Secure Communities
Fiscal
Year
Jurisdictions Deployed
Added Cumulative
FY 2008 0 0
FY 2009 88 88
FY 2010 570 658
FY 2011 937 1,595
FY 2012 1,480 3,075
FY 2013 106 3,181
On June 30, 2010 and reiterated again on March 2, 2011, former ICE Director John Morton issued a directive entitled "Civil Immigration Enforcement: Priorities for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens." In these memoranda to all staff, Morton instructed that the agency would focus its limited resources on deporting serious criminals. The agency's highest priority, he stated, was to focus on finding and deporting noncitizens who posed a serious threat to public safety or endangered national security.

Although this new emphasis was announced with great fanfare, the data show that this policy appeared to have had very little impact on the character of actual deportations. While there was an increase in the number of deportees during FY 2011 who had been convicted of an offense, this increase was largely the result of a sharp increase in those picked up and deported for traffic violations — not serious criminals.

In fact, minor traffic violations were one category for which the announced policy called for a de-emphasis, not increase. "Some misdemeanors are relatively minor and do not warrant the same degree of focus as others. ICE agents and Officers" were instructed to "exercise particular discretion when dealing with minor traffic offenses such as driving without a license." While deportees in this category did decline after 2011, their number in FY 2013 still exceeded their level in FY 2010 when the agency's new priorities had been announced.

More striking is that there has been an absolute decline in the number of noncitizens removed who have been convicted of any crime apart from traffic and immigration. During FY 2010 these individuals numbered 116,884. By FY 2013 they had declined to only 103,676. This means that the trumpeted increase in the number of "convicted criminals" ICE has deported resulted entirely from jacking up the deportation of noncitizens whose most serious criminal conviction was a traffic or an immigration offense. See Table 4 and Figure 5.

Table 4. ICE Deportations by Type of Most Serious Criminal Conviction, FY 2010 - FY 2013
Fiscal Year Most Serious Criminal Conviction
Traffic Immigration Traffic plus Immigration All Other
FY 2010 42,339 36,549 78,888 116,884
FY 2011 56,989 40,300 97,289 118,247
FY 2012 51,504 45,036 96,540 106,706
FY 2013 47,249 54,812 102,061 103,676
Note: A small number of cases with missing charge are omitted. See footnote to Table 2.


Figure 5. ICE Deportations by Type of Most Serious Criminal Conviction, FY 2010 - FY 2013

Digging Deeper

ICE also records the nature of criminal charges in its deportation records at a finer level of detail. Under the general heading of drug offenses, for example, ICE records indicate whether this was for mere possession or for sales, and also includes the type of drug involved — cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, etc. Under the category of assault, we can determine whether this was a simple or an aggravated assault, whether a police officer, family member or a non-family member was assaulted, and whether any weapon was used along with the weapon type.

In this section we therefore dig deeper and see what type of offense within these broad categories was recorded. For those convicted of any crime, ICE records their particular offense using these more detailed charges. If an individual has more than one conviction, the charge used corresponds with the most serious conviction.

For this analysis, data with these more detailed charge information are available only for FY 2012 and FY 2013. While TRAC requested case-by-case records providing these details on deportees covering the entire period, only data released for the last two years proved to be reliable. For earlier years, ICE claimed that it was unable to locate case-by-case records on more than 90 percent of the individuals it had deported.

Nearly four hundred separate offenses are listed as the most serious conviction in the ICE deportation records analyzed by TRAC. However, the top twenty charges accounted for three out of every four of these deportations during FY 2013 (74 percent). This "top 20" list is shown in Table 5 along with the corresponding number in FY 2012. Table 6 provides the complete list of offenses along with their occurrence in FY 2012 and FY 2013, based upon the records ICE released to TRAC.

Table 5. Ranking by Number of ICE Deportations by Criminal Offense, FY 2012 - FY 2013
Rank Most Serious Conviction Category FY 2012 FY 2013
1 Illegal Entry (INA SEC.101(a)(43)(O), 8USC1325 only) Immigration 37,140 46,759
2 Driving Under Influence Liquor Traffic Offenses 32,463 29,852
3 Traffic Offense Traffic Offenses 17,229 15,548
4 Marijuana - Possession Drug Offenses 6,447 6,770
5 Assault - Miscellaneous Assault 6,390 6,505
6 Cocaine - Possession Drug Offenses 6,591 6,133
7 Dangerous Drugs - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 6,138 5,616
8 Cocaine - Sell Drug Offenses 4,356 4,209
9 Illegal Re-Entry (INA SEC.101(a)(43)(O), 8USC1326 only) Immigration 3,603 3,992
10 Larceny -- Miscellaneous Larceny 4,005 3,845
11 Burglary -- Miscellaneous Burglary 3,046 3,076
12 Marijuana - Sell Drug Offenses 2,997 2,983
13 Robbery - Miscellaneous Robbery 2,763 2,671
14 Drug Possession -- Other Drug Type Drug Offenses 2,464 2,649
15 Public Order Crimes General Crimes 2,832 2,413
16 Drug Trafficking Drug Offenses 1,730 2,192
17 Sex Assault - Miscellaneous Sexual Assault 2,195 2,100
18 Disorderly Conduct Public Peace 2,287 1,995
19 Immigration (Possess of Fraud. Immigration Docs) Immigration 2,178 1,994
20 Domestic Violence Assault 1,654 1,849

As we see in Table 5, the top three most common charges among ICE deportees during FY 2013 were either immigration or traffic offenses. Conviction for illegal entry was first, driving while intoxicated (DWI) was second, and simple traffic violation was third.

In fourth place in FY 2013 was conviction for marijuana possession. This meant that out of all deportations where the most serious conviction involved drugs, the most common offense found was simple marijuana possession. The number of marijuana possession deportation cases had grown so that they exceeded convictions for cocaine possession, which had dropped to sixth place overall.

Two other immigration offenses — illegal re-entry and possession of fraudulent immigration documents — are included on this top 20 list. There are also other kinds of drug offenses beyond marijuana on the top-20 list. Indeed seven out of 20 on the list are drug offenses of different types. Lowest among drug charges on the list is perhaps the most serious — drug trafficking. Convictions for drug trafficking accounted for only one percent of deportees recorded as convicted of a crime, while marijuana possession was more than three times that level.

We also see public order crimes as well as disorderly conduct each make the list. Crimes against public order generally cover violations that go against publicly shared values, norms, or customs and vary from state to state. These are sometimes described as "victimless" crimes where it is thought that no one is harmed by the conduct. This catch-all category often covers disorderly conduct type violations such as public drunkenness. Filling out the top 20 list is domestic violence in 20th place.

Specific offenses from more traditional crime categories such as assault, larceny, burglary and robbery are also found within the top 20. Each of these broad categories include offenses from quite serious to very minor. However, those making the list are the miscellaneous and often less serious offenses within these broad categories, which is known since they weren't placed in one of the sub-categories with more serious elements involved in the crime.

Conclusion

During the past six years — from the last year of the Bush administration through the first five years of the Obama administration — government records indicate over 2.3 million noncitizens were deported by ICE. This spans the entire period from just before the Secure Communities program was launched under President Bush in October 2008 to its extension to virtually all jurisdictions across the nation — some 3,181 — by the end of fiscal year 2013.

Analysis of ICE data covering these 2.3 million deportations obtained by TRAC show that while the agency was able to increase the number of noncitizens it deported who had been convicted of a crime, this was largely a result of an increase in the deportations of individuals whose most serious conviction was an immigration or traffic violation.

In fact, after Director Morton on June 30 of 2010 directed a renewed focus on finding and deporting "convicted criminals" who posed a serious threat to public safety or endangered national security, the number of individuals deported who have been convicted of any criminal offense apart from an immigration or traffic violation has actually declined.

This decline occurred at the same time as the most rapid expansion in the number of jurisdictions covered by the Secure Communities program occurred.

Table 6. Number of ICE Deportations by Criminal Offense and Charge Category, FY 2012 - FY 2013
(Click column header to sort, click table title to open in new window)
Most Serious Conviction Category FY 2012 FY 2013
Total Deportations 409,849 368,644
With Criminal Conviction 225,390 216,810
Abortional Act on Other Abortion 2 2
Antitrust Antitrust 0 1
Arson Arson 45 101
Arson - Residence Arson 7 8
Arson - Residence-Endangered Life Arson 2 7
Arson - Business Arson 0 2
Burning Of (Identify object in comments) Arson 7 2
Arson - Business-Endangered Life Arson 0 1
Arson - Residence-Defraud Insurer Arson 2 0
Assault -- Miscellaneous Assault 6,390 6,505
Domestic Violence Assault 1,654 1,849
Battery Assault 1,472 1,576
Aggravated Assault - Weapon Assault 1,010 1,079
Simple Assault Assault 710 590
Aggravated Assault - Family-Strongarm Assault 552 494
Aggravated Assault - Non-family-Weapon Assault 283 285
Aggravated Assault - Non-family-Strongarm Assault 274 253
Aggravated Assault - Family-Weapon Assault 146 167
Intimidation Assault 151 161
Aggravated Assault - Gun Assault 170 155
Aggravated Assault - Police Officer-Strongarm Assault 118 117
Aggravated Assault - Non-family-Gun Assault 85 94
Aggravated Assault - Public Officer-Strongarm Assault 33 32
Aggravated Assault - Family-Gun Assault 28 29
Aggravated Assault - Police Officer-Weapon Assault 35 25
Aggravated Assault - Public Officer-Weapon Assault 21 17
Aggravated Assault - Police Officer-Gun Assault 12 9
Aggravated Assault - Public Officer-Gun Assault 7 5
Bribe Bribery 2 7
Bribery Bribery 14 7
Bribe - Giving Bribery 5 1
Bribe - Offering Bribery 5 1
Conflict Of Interest Bribery 0 1
Burglary - Miscellaneous Burglary 3,046 3,076
Burglary - Forced Entry-Residence Burglary 269 228
Burglary Tools - Possession Burglary 135 120
Burglary - Forced Entry-Non-Residence Burglary 120 97
Burglary - No Forced Entry-Residence Burglary 54 51
Burglary - No Forced Entry-Non-Residence Burglary 40 32
Burglary - Banking-Type Institution Burglary 5 5
Conservation - Environment Conservation 5 21
Conservation - Animals Conservation 7 17
Conservation - Fish Conservation 40 16
Conservation - Miscellaneous Conservation 2 5
Conservation - License-Stamp Conservation 5 5
Damage Property - Miscellaneous Damage Property 573 506
Damage Property - Private Damage Property 64 56
Damage Property - Public Damage Property 38 31
Damage Property - Business Damage Property 24 16
Damage Property - Public-With Explosive Damage Property 0 2
Damage Property - Private-With Explosive Damage Property 2 0
Marijuana - Possession Drug Offenses 6,447 6,770
Cocaine - Possession Drug Offenses 6,591 6,133
Dangerous Drugs - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 6,138 5,616
Cocaine - Sell Drug Offenses 4,356 4,209
Marijuana - Sell Drug Offenses 2,997 2,983
Drug Possession - other drug type Drug Offenses 2,464 2,649
Drug Trafficking Drug Offenses 1,730 2,192
Amphetamine - Sell Drug Offenses 1,704 1,718
Amphetamine - Possession Drug Offenses 1,777 1,583
Marijuana - Smuggle Drug Offenses 1,192 1,169
Narcotic Equip - Possession Drug Offenses 1,126 1,036
Heroin - Sell Drug Offenses 911 985
Marijuana - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 890 691
Cocaine - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 883 670
Cocaine - Smuggle Drug Offenses 628 660
Synthetic Narcotic - Sell Drug Offenses 363 441
Heroin - Possession Drug Offenses 463 424
Synthetic Narcotic - Possession Drug Offenses 293 300
Amphetamine - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 319 288
Heroin - Smuggle Drug Offenses 177 169
Amphetamine - Manufacturing Drug Offenses 170 144
Heroin - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 182 122
Marijuana (describe offense) Drug Offenses 153 112
Synthetic Narcotic - Smuggle Drug Offenses 38 57
Synthetic Narcotic - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 42 48
Hallucinogen - Possession Drug Offenses 31 31
Hallucinogen - Sell Drug Offenses 19 31
Opium Or Derivatives - Possession Drug Offenses 40 29
Opium Or Derivatives - Sell Drug Offenses 17 21
Hallucinogen - Distribution Drug Offenses 21 20
Barbiturate - Sell Drug Offenses 7 8
Barbiturate - Possession Drug Offenses 12 6
Opium Or Derivatives - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 9 6
Hallucinogen - Miscellaneous Drug Offenses 5 5
Hallucinogen - Manufacturing Drug Offenses 2 5
Barbiturate - Manufacturing Drug Offenses 2 3
Opium Or Derivatives - Smuggle Drug Offenses 7 1
Embezzle - Miscellaneous Embezzlement 42 43
Embezzle - Business Property Embezzlement 0 5
Embezzle - Banking-Type Institution Embezzlement 2 0
Embezzle - Interstate Shipment Embezzlement 2 0
Embezzle - Public Property (U.S., state, city property) Embezzlement 9 0
Sexual Exploitation of Minor - Sex Performance Exploitation/Enticement 38 51
Enticement of Minor for Indecent Purposes Exploitation/Enticement 12 23
Sexual Exploitation of Minor - Material - Photograph Exploitation/Enticement 12 22
Sexual Exploitation of Minor - Via Telecommunications Exploitation/Enticement 7 14
Sexual Exploitation of Minor - Exhibition of Minor Exploitation/Enticement 5 13
Sexual Exploitation of Minor - Material - Film Exploitation/Enticement 2 13
Exploitation of a Minor - Miscellaneous Exploitation/Enticement 7 7
Enticement of Minor for Indecent Purposes - via Telecommunications Exploitation/Enticement 2 6
Sexual Exploitation of Minor - Material - Transport Exploitation/Enticement 2 2
Enticement of Minor for Prostitution Exploitation/Enticement 0 1
Exploitation/Enticement (Use the MIS Field to further describe offense) Exploitation/Enticement 2 0
Sexual Exploitation of Minor - Prostitution Exploitation/Enticement 5 0
Extortion - Threat Injure Person Extortion 9 31
Extortion - Miscellaneous Extortion 12 21
Extortion - Threat of Informing of Violence Extortion 2 3
Extortion - Threat Accuse Person Of Crime Extortion 2 1
Cruelty Toward Wife Family Offense 1,305 1,199
Cruelty Toward Child Family Offense 460 518
Family Offense - Miscellaneous Family Offense 307 211
Neglect Child Family Offense 123 132
Contributing to Delinquency of Minor Family Offense 106 93
Neglect Family Family Offense 28 29
Cruelty Toward Elderly Family Offense 5 7
Non-support of Parent Family Offense 2 7
Cruelty Toward Disabled Family Offense 2 2
Neglect Elderly Family Offense 5 0
Non-payment of Alimony Family Offense 5 0
Flight To Avoid (prosecution, confinement, etc.) Flight - Escape 472 566
Flight - Escape Flight - Escape 142 97
Escape (identify type institution in comments) Flight - Escape 21 21
Harboring Escapee/Fugitive Flight - Escape 24 12
Forgery - Miscellaneous Forgery 1,574 1,417
Possession Forged (identify in comments) Forgery 278 242
Forgery Of (identify in comments) Forgery 191 152
Possession Counterfeited (identify in comments) Forgery 87 115
Counterfeiting - Miscellaneous Forgery 175 94
Counterfeiting Of (identify in comments) Forgery 64 58
Forgery Of Checks Forgery 94 56
Possession Tools For Forgery/Counterfeiting Forgery 45 44
Pass Forged (identify in comments) Forgery 26 24
Pass Counterfeited (identify in comments) Forgery 14 16
Transport Counterfeited (identify in comments) Forgery 9 9
Transport Forged (identify in comments) Forgery 0 1
Transport Tools For Forgery/Counterfeiting Forgery 9 1
Fraud - Miscellaneous Fraudulent Act 1,716 1,629
Fraud - Impersonating Fraudulent Act 1,022 849
Fraud - False Statement Fraudulent Act 687 730
Fraud - Illegal Use Credit Cards Fraudulent Act 104 102
Fraud By Wire Fraudulent Act 50 55
Fraud - Insufficient Funds Check Fraudulent Act 47 33
Mail Fraud Fraudulent Act 17 31
Fraud - Swindle Fraudulent Act 21 18
Fraud - Confidence Game Fraudulent Act 9 5
Fraud and Abuse - Computer Fraudulent Act 2 3
Gambling - Miscellaneous Gambling 21 15
Transmit Wager Information Gambling 0 7
Gambling Device - Possession Gambling 2 4
Gambling Goods - Possession Gambling 0 2
Establish Gambling Place Gambling 0 1
Gambling Device Gambling 0 1
Sports Tampering Gambling 0 1
Lottery Gambling 2 0
Identity Theft General Crimes 380 393
Licensing Violation General Crimes 231 286
Conspiracy [use when no underlying offense, such as 18 U.S.C. SEC. 371] General Crimes 78 102
Human Slavery or Trafficking General Crimes 57 46
Gang Activity General Crimes 40 43
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) General Crimes 28 29
Morals - Decency Crimes General Crimes 31 27
Terrorism General Crimes 12 10
Deceptive Business Practices (to include False Advertising) General Crimes 5 3
Computer Crimes General Crimes 2 2
Public Order Crimes - Miscellaneous General Crimes - Miscellaneous 2,832 2,413
Property Crimes - Miscellaneous General Crimes - Miscellaneous 354 309
Crimes Against Person - Miscellaneous General Crimes - Miscellaneous 323 258
Drugs - Health or Safety Health - Safety 602 454
Health - Safety Health - Safety 130 85
Drugs - Adulterated Health - Safety 14 7
Drugs - Misbranded Health - Safety 9 7
Food - Health or Safety Health - Safety 0 2
Homicide - Miscellaneous Homicide 614 630
Homicide-Negligent Manslaughter-Vehicle Homicide 271 240
Homicide-Negligent Manslaughter-Weapon Homicide 73 76
Voluntary - Manslaughter Homicide 68 69
Homicide-Willful Kill-Gun Homicide 38 58
Homicide-Willful Kill-Weapon Homicide 40 43
Homicide-Willful Kill-Non-family-Gun Homicide 33 24
Homicide-Willful Kill-Non-family-Weapon Homicide 24 15
Homicide-Willful Kill-Family-Weapon Homicide 5 8
Homicide-Willful Kill-Police Officer-Gun Homicide 0 2
Homicide-Willful Kill-Police Officer-Weapon Homicide 2 2
Homicide-John/Jane Doe-No Warr Homicide 2 1
Homicide-Willful Kill-Family-Gun Homicide 5 1
Homicide-Willful Kill-Public Official-Gun Homicide 0 1
Homicide-Willful Kill-Public Official-Weapon Homicide 5 0
Illegal Entry (INA SEC.101(a)(43)(O), 8USC1325 only) Immigration 37,140 46,759
Illegal Re-Entry (INA SEC.101(a)(43)(O), 8USC1326 only) Immigration 3,603 3,992
Immigration (Possess of Fraud. Immigration Docs) Immigration 2,178 1,994
Smuggling Aliens Immigration 1,199 1,501
False Citizenship Immigration 873 514
Immigration (Trafficking of Fraud. Immigration Documents) Immigration 42 52
Trespassing Invasion of Privacy 1,343 1,274
Invade Privacy Invasion of Privacy 26 24
Eavesdropping Invasion of Privacy 5 1
Divulge Message Contents Invasion of Privacy 2 0
Escape From Custody Juvenile Offenders 38 37
Abscond While On Parole Juvenile Offenders 0 1
Kidnapping - Miscellaneous Kidnapping 474 420
False Imprisonment Kidnapping 342 317
Kidnap Adult Kidnapping 80 76
Abduct-No Ransom or Assault Kidnapping 78 69
Kidnap Adult To Sexually Assault Kidnapping 21 40
Kidnap Minor To Sexually Assault Kidnapping 14 31
Kidnap Adult For Ransom Kidnapping 24 29
False Imprisonment-Minor-Nonparental Kidnapping 21 23
Kidnap Minor Kidnapping 21 21
Kidnap Hostage For Escape Kidnapping 0 9
Kidnap Minor-Parental Kidnapping 9 8
False Imprisonment-Minor-Parental Kidnapping 5 7
Kidnap Minor-Nonparental Kidnapping 0 3
Kidnap-Hijack Aircraft Kidnapping 0 2
Kidnap Minor For Ransom Kidnapping 5 1
Larceny -- Miscellaneous Larceny 4,005 3,845
Shoplifting Larceny 1,260 1,081
Larceny - From Auto Larceny 101 114
Larceny - From Building Larceny 61 49
Theft Of US Government Property Larceny 19 22
Larceny - Parts from Vehicle Larceny 14 14
Larceny - From Banking-Type Institution Larceny 9 12
Larceny - From Yards Larceny 0 5
Larceny - From Mails Larceny 0 3
Larceny - From Shipment Larceny 0 3
Purse Snatching - No Force Larceny 5 3
Larceny - From Coin Machine Larceny 0 2
Larceny - Postal Larceny 2 2
Larceny On US Government Reserves Larceny 2 2
Larceny - From Interstate Shipment Larceny 2 1
Obstruct Correspondence (postal violation) Larceny 0 1
Pocketpicking Larceny 0 1
Liquor - Miscellaneous Liquor 503 457
Liquor - Possession Liquor 304 265
Liquor - Sell Liquor 17 22
Liquor - Transport Liquor 40 15
Liquor - Manufacturing Liquor 2 0
Military - Other Military 7 3
Military Desertion Military 2 1
Money Laundering-Remarks Money Laundering 111 152
Structuring Money Laundering 2 1
Obscene Material - Possession Obscenity 21 23
Obscene Communication Obscenity 2 12
Obscene Material Obscenity 0 9
Obscene - Miscellaneous Obscenity 5 6
Obscene Material - Distribution Obscenity 0 3
Obscene Material - Manufacturing Obscenity 0 1
Obscene Material - Sell Obscenity 5 0
Failure To Appear Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 807 697
Probation Violation Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 201 257
Obstructing Justice - Miscellaneous Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 236 219
Contempt Of Court Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 219 169
Violation of a Court Order Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 153 165
Perjury Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 42 30
Obstructing Court Order Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 21 28
Obstruct (specify Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, Commission in comments) Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 17 19
Parole Violation Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 2 10
Conditional Release Violation Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 2 8
Bail - Personal Recognizance Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 2 7
Bail - Secured Bond Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 7 5
Misconduct - Judicial Officer Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 0 2
Contempt Of Legislature Obstructing Judiciary, Congress, Legislature, etc. 0 1
Resisting Officer Obstructing the Police 1,005 977
Obstruct Police Obstructing the Police 840 811
Making False Report Obstructing the Police 257 199
Failure Report Crime Obstructing the Police 45 63
Illegal Arrest Obstructing the Police 76 60
Refusing To Aid Officer Obstructing the Police 57 47
Witness - Dissuading Obstructing the Police 28 34
Obstruct Criminal Invest Obstructing the Police 19 33
Evidence - Destroying Obstructing the Police 14 23
Compounding Crime Obstructing the Police 2 17
Failing to Move On Obstructing the Police 2 2
Unauthorized Communication With Prisoner Obstructing the Police 0 1
Crossing Police Lines Obstructing the Police 2 0
Witness - Deceiving Obstructing the Police 2 0
Disorderly Conduct Public Peace 2,287 1,995
Public Peace Public Peace 354 318
Harassing Communication Public Peace 191 176
Assembly - Unlawful Public Peace 12 21
Riot - Miscellaneous Public Peace 7 12
Anarchism Public Peace 0 9
Riot - Engaging in Public Peace 2 7
Riot - Interfere Officer Public Peace 2 5
Riot - Inciting Public Peace 0 2
Riot - Interfere Firearm Public Peace 0 1
Robbery - Miscellaneous Robbery 2,763 2,671
Robbery - Street-Weapon Robbery 130 114
Robbery - Street-Gun Robbery 87 112
Robbery - Street-Strongarm Robbery 99 81
Carjacking-Armed Robbery 68 74
Robbery - Business-Gun Robbery 40 64
Robbery - Residence-Gun Robbery 52 57
Robbery - Business Weapon Robbery 40 39
Robbery - Residence-Strongarm Robbery 40 39
Robbery - Residence-Weapon Robbery 42 39
Robbery - Banking-Type Institution Robbery 42 28
Robbery - Business-Strongarm Robbery 26 23
Forcible Purse Snatching Robbery 5 0
Prostitution - Miscellaneous Sex Offenses - Commercialized 630 507
Commercial Sex Sex Offenses - Commercialized 26 47
Procure For Prostitute (pimping) Sex Offenses - Commercialized 45 35
Procure for Prostitute Who is an Adult Sex Offenses - Commercialized 57 30
Keeping House Ill Fame Sex Offenses - Commercialized 9 15
Frequent House Ill Fame Sex Offenses - Commercialized 2 7
Procure for Prostitute Who Is a Minor Sex Offenses - Commercialized 5 7
Transport Interstate for Commercialized Sex Sex Offenses - Commercialized 9 5
Transport Female Interstate for Immoral Purposes Sex Offenses - Commercialized 2 1
Sex Offense - Miscellaneous Sex Offenses - Other* 757 624
Sex Offense Against Child-Fondling Sex Offenses - Other* 571 559
Lewd or Lascivious Acts with Minor Sex Offenses - Other* 349 444
Indecent Exposure Sex Offenses - Other* 175 152
Molestation of Minor Sex Offenses - Other* 90 140
Indecent Exposure to Minor Sex Offenses - Other* 45 50
Peeping Tom Sex Offenses - Other* 26 29
Incest With Minor Sex Offenses - Other* 14 15
Indecent Exposure to Adult Sex Offenses - Other* 12 9
Voyeurism Sex Offenses - Other* 7 7
Sex Offender Registration Violation Sex Offenses - Other* 5 6
Transport Interstate for Sexual Activity Sex Offenses - Other* 14 6
Failure To Register As A Sex Offender Sex Offenses - Other* 2 3
Bestiality Sex Offenses - Other* 2 2
Sex Offense - Disabled Sex Offenses - Other* 0 2
Seduction Of Adult Sex Offenses - Other* 2 1
Sex Assault - Miscellaneous Sexual Assault 2,195 2,100
Rape - Strongarm Sexual Assault 340 353
Statutory Rape - No Force Sexual Assault 243 262
Sex Assault - Carnal Abuse Sexual Assault 210 198
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Girl-Strongarm Sexual Assault 123 143
Rape - Remarks Sexual Assault 139 141
Rape With Weapon Sexual Assault 17 28
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Woman-Strongarm Sexual Assault 28 18
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Boy-Strongarm Sexual Assault 17 16
Rape - Disabled Sexual Assault 14 15
Rape - Drug-Induced Sexual Assault 14 12
Rape - Gun Sexual Assault 7 7
Sexual Assault - Drug-Induced Sexual Assault 5 7
Rape - Elderly Sexual Assault 5 5
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Girl-Weapon Sexual Assault 5 5
Sex Assault - Disabled Sexual Assault 5 3
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Woman-Weapon Sexual Assault 0 3
Sex Assault - Elderly Sexual Assault 5 2
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Man-Weapon Sexual Assault 0 2
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Boy-Gun Sexual Assault 2 1
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Boy-Weapon Sexual Assault 2 1
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Man-Gun Sexual Assault 0 1
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Man-Strongarm Sexual Assault 2 1
Sex Assault - Sodomy-Girl-Gun Sexual Assault 7 0
Smuggling = Miscellaneous Smuggling 90 111
Smuggle Contraband Smuggling 7 12
Smuggle To Avoid Paying Duty Smuggling 9 7
Smuggle Contraband Into Prison Smuggling 12 6
Espionage Sovereignty 5 0
Sabotage Sovereignty 2 0
Stolen Property - Miscellaneous Stolen Property 453 387
Receive Stolen Property Stolen Property 418 386
Possession Stolen Property Stolen Property 172 160
Conceal Stolen Property Stolen Property 14 20
Transport Interstate Stolen Property Stolen Property 17 12
Sale Of Stolen Property Stolen Property 14 8
Vehicle Theft Stolen Vehicle 732 639
Unauthorized Use of Vehicle (includes joy riding) Stolen Vehicle 321 271
Stolen Vehicle - Miscellaneous Stolen Vehicle 158 127
Theft And Use Vehicle Other Crime Stolen Vehicle 78 88
Possession Stolen Vehicle Stolen Vehicle 97 59
Receiving Stolen Vehicle Stolen Vehicle 28 32
Theft And Sale Vehicle Stolen Vehicle 35 31
Theft And Strip Vehicle Stolen Vehicle 33 15
Theft Vehicle By Bailee Stolen Vehicle 9 12
Interstate Transportation of Stolen Vehicle Stolen Vehicle 0 1
Strip Stolen Vehicle Stolen Vehicle 2 0
Tax Revenue Tax Revenue 21 20
Sales Tax Tax Revenue 2 4
Income Tax Tax Revenue 5 3
Federal-Material Witness Threat 26 234
Threat Terroristic State Offenses Threat 165 189
Threaten Federal Protectee Threat 0 6
Driving Under Influence Liquor Traffic Offenses 32,463 29,852
Traffic Offense Traffic Offenses 17,229 15,548
Hit and Run Traffic Offenses 1,192 1,159
Driving Under Influence Drugs Traffic Offenses 616 683
Transporting Dangerous Material Traffic Offenses 5 8
Treason Misprision Treason Mispri 2 1
Weapon Offense Weapon Offense 1,218 1,318
Possession Of Weapon Weapon Offense 571 652
Carrying Concealed Weapon Weapon Offense 314 379
Carrying Prohibited Weapon Weapon Offense 182 231
Firing Weapon Weapon Offense 193 151
Weapon Trafficking Weapon Offense 28 24
Selling Weapon Weapon Offense 9 12
Altering Identification On Weapon Weapon Offense 7 7
Threat To Bomb Weapon Offense 2 5
Licensing - Registration Weapon Weapon Offense 2 3
Explosives - Possession Weapon Offense 5 2
Threat To Burn Weapon Offense 2 2
Explosives - Using Weapon Offense 0 1
Incendiary Device - Possession Weapon Offense 2 0
No charge information available** 22,146 11,074
* Excludes sexual assault and commercialized sex offenses.
** Case-by-case ICE deportation records available for FY 2012 - FY 2013 do not record these individuals as ever convicted while ICE reported these additional individuals had been convicted of a non-serious offense. TRAC used the higher total for the number convicted published by ICE but didn't attempt to estimate how much larger traffic and other non-serious violation counts should be to reflect these cases. Similarly conviction counts for FY 2008 - FY 2010 include individuals ICE previously reported as never convicted but then switched to the convicted column in later revised counts. See footnote 3 and footnote 4.


Footnotes

[1] ICE's definition of what "role" it needs to play before it includes a deportation in its figures appears to be changeable. For example, in ICE records TRAC obtained just this month in response to a FOIA request, the agency stated that: "Any voluntary return on or after July 1, 2013, whose case does not have an ICE book-in will not be recorded as an ICE removal."

[2] This is unfortunate since there are a great many deportations that occur in which both ICE and CBP are involved. CBP apprehensions now make up a very significant component (64 percent during FY 2013) of the deportations ICE ultimately counts. This means that the numbers from year-to-year for ICE reflect not simply the level of activity, but also administrative decisions within and between the two agencies as to enforcement practices and division of responsibilities. The confusion is heightened because ICE and CBP's jurisdictions overlap for large parts of "inland" America — a large strip that includes all individuals in cities, towns, and counties within 100 miles of the country's land borders and those who travel between any locations within the U.S. whose travel route takes them within 100 miles of the border. Clearly, CBP's responsibilities are not limited to the actual border and ports of entry. Thus, equating non-CBP apprehensions — as ICE and others do — as the only "inland" apprehensions resulting in deportation is quite misleading and factually inaccurate. These agencies also have not been willing to help unscramble this confusion by releasing information to TRAC on where individuals were apprehended and why. Thus, it is unfortunately not possible to examine how many were apprehended because they had just tried to enter the country illegally versus those apprehended who have been in the U.S. for some period of time.

[3] ICE claimed that it was only able to locate case-by-case records for less than 10 percent of the number of its published figures on deportations up to and including FY 2011. Because these data were too unreliable to be used, TRAC is using aggregate information furnished by ICE as a follow-up to an interview TRAC conducted with ICE officials. For FY 2012 and FY 2013, case-by-case deportation data received from ICE as a result of monthly FOIA requests were used. There were, however, some months missing from the data ICE has thus far released. These months were estimated to bring the total numbers up to ICE reported fiscal year counts in these two years. For FY 2012, these estimates were based upon April, May, June, August and September records — and thus to the extent of differences between the first and second half of FY 2012, TRAC's estimates reflect patterns for the second half of that fiscal year. For FY 2013, data for eleven out of the twelve months have been received so only June data needed to be estimated. Estimates were derived under the assumption that its makeup was the same as observed during the other eleven months.

[4] These numbers actually appear to be underestimates of the extent to which low level violations dominated ICE deportations. ICE's published statistics claim that 59 percent of all removals had been convicted of a crime in FY 2013, whereas case-by-case ICE records released to TRAC only document convictions for 56 percent. These discrepancies only showed up for non-serious offenses. Such discrepancies might have arisen because of the late recording of minor offenses such as traffic violations.