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ICE’s 2010 through 2014 enforcement priorities memos did place convicted criminals at the top of the list, but the priorities were by no means confined to felons.125 Other categories within the priorities memos unmistakably applied to misdemeanants and to others with no criminal background. The latter included recent violators of the immigration laws, as well as egregious or repeat immigration violators, including those who had failed to honor a final removal order.126 For that reason, ICE’s defensive emphasis on serious criminals only wound up providing ammunition to SC opponents whenever they could point to someone with no criminal conviction placed in removal proceedings. Activists made much of their findings, for example, that only 14% of ICE detainers issued in FY 2012 and the early part of FY 2013 involved serious criminals, and only 47% involved persons with criminal violations at all.....[Citing TRAC resarch].
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