Immigration security

Border Patrol sees increase in border crossers

In 2015 DHS replaced the previous Secure Communities Program with a new Priority Enforcement Program, which established three levels based on removal priority.

Level one includes threats to national security, border security and public safety, which include removable migrants who have been convicted of a felony; Level two includes removable migrants who have been convicted of three or more “significant misdemeanors” to include, domestic violence or driving under the influence; Level three includes those removable migrants who have been issued a final order of removal, according to the ICE website.

According to DHS officials 99.7 percent of all deportations during FY2016 fell within one of these three categories.

“ The bottom line is that almost 100 percent of DHS enforcement resources focused in 2016 on illegal border crossers, recent visa violators, and national security and public safety threats,” Rosenblum said.