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b. Criminal Immigration Laws at the Federal Level
The United States has been steadily criminalizing immigration laws, while increasing
the severity of penalties for non-citizens who violate immigration laws. According to
DOJ data analyzed by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access
Clearinghouse, overall federal criminal prosecutions in FY 2009 increased by 9 percent
from FY 2008 and 42 percent from FY 2004. “The major factor driving the overall
increase has been the sharp rise in individuals prosecuted for immigration offenses.
Last year immigration prosecutions jumped 15.7 percent—from 79,431 during FY 2008
to 91,899 in FY 2009.” Immigration prosecutions now make up more than 50 percent
of all federal criminal filings.103
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