U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it deported record numbers of immigrants in fiscal year 2011 on the same day immigrant advocates announced a national day of action called “Obama, Immigration and the Latino Community.”
A press release issued by Presente.org and Florida Immigrant Coalition states:
Latinos, immigrants and their allies will hold a National Day of Action called “Obama, Immigration and the Latino Community” on Tuesday, October 18 in 10 cities across the nation – Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, San Francisco, and Tucson. In conjunction with Presente.org, Latino community leaders, clergy, and family members devastated by the controversial Secure Communities (SCOMM) racial profiling program and the immigrant detention policies of President Obama will participate in simultaneous screenings of PBS Frontline special, “Lost in Detention,” airing in the evening on October 18.
Journalist Maria Hinojosa says her documentary Lost in Detention is about Secure Communities, “which allows the sharing of information in terms of immigrants”:
According to The Miami Herald, “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said Tuesday his agency deported nearly 400,000 individuals during the fiscal year 2011 that just ended in September.”
The Herald adds: “ICE said about 55 percent of the 396,906 individuals deported had felony or misdemeanor convictions. Officials said the number of individuals convicted of crimes was up 89 percent from 2008.”
