Wall Street Journal (by Miriam Jordan): The Obama administration, in a crackdown aiming to deport illegal immigrants who are suspected criminals or fugitives, announced Monday the arrests of more than 3,000 foreigners.
The arrests were made last week as part of the nationwide "Cross Check" operation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the sweep encompassed all 50 states and involved more than 1,900 agents.
John Morton, the agency's director, said the effort underscored the "ongoing commitment and focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those that game our nation's immigration system."
The Obama administration announced last year that it would make a priority of removing from the U.S. illegal immigrants who committed serious crimes. But it has faced criticism from immigrants' advocates and Hispanic groups for deporting nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants—a record annual total—in each of the past three years.
President Barack Obama is eager to court Latino voters who will be crucial to his re-election bid. Some Latino voters say they are disappointed that the president hasn't delivered on a campaign commitment to promote an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.
Other critics say the administration is soft on illegal immigration, pointing to recent moves to use executive powers to change immigration procedures without altering the law. For instance, the administration has begun to review 300,000 pending court cases against low-priority offenders who are undocumented immigrants with a view to allow many of them to remain in the country.
The U.S. is home to 11.5 million illegal immigrants, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Those arrested in last week's six-day "Cross Check" sweep included 1,477 illegal immigrants with felony convictions, including for murder, manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. Among those arrested were about 50 gang members and 149 convicted sexual offenders.
The arrests were made last week as part of the nationwide "Cross Check" operation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the sweep encompassed all 50 states and involved more than 1,900 agents.
John Morton, the agency's director, said the effort underscored the "ongoing commitment and focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens and those that game our nation's immigration system."
The Obama administration announced last year that it would make a priority of removing from the U.S. illegal immigrants who committed serious crimes. But it has faced criticism from immigrants' advocates and Hispanic groups for deporting nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants—a record annual total—in each of the past three years.
President Barack Obama is eager to court Latino voters who will be crucial to his re-election bid. Some Latino voters say they are disappointed that the president hasn't delivered on a campaign commitment to promote an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.
Other critics say the administration is soft on illegal immigration, pointing to recent moves to use executive powers to change immigration procedures without altering the law. For instance, the administration has begun to review 300,000 pending court cases against low-priority offenders who are undocumented immigrants with a view to allow many of them to remain in the country.
The U.S. is home to 11.5 million illegal immigrants, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Those arrested in last week's six-day "Cross Check" sweep included 1,477 illegal immigrants with felony convictions, including for murder, manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. Among those arrested were about 50 gang members and 149 convicted sexual offenders.
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