Deportations of undocumented immigrants under President Obama are on track to hit a decade low, according to figures from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
ICE data from June suggests the Obama administration will deport 230,000 people by the end of fiscal year 2016, which comes to a close next month. The number falls below the 235,413 illegal immigrants who were removed from the U.S. last year, marking the lowest number since 2006, the Hill reported Wednesday.
Deportations under the Obama administration hit a high in 2012 with 409,849 people removed from the country, according to ICE figures.
Obama had pressed Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would provide undocumented immigrants a path to legal status in the U.S. When that effort stalled, Obama in 2014 declared executive actions that extended legal status for certain undocumented immigrants, including the parents of already protected children.
The Supreme Court in June issued an evenly divided ruling on Obama’s executive immigration actions, blocking his programs from going into effect until the lower court issues a decision. The programs likely will not resume during the remainder of Obama’s presidency.
Still, his administration succeeded in reshaping enforcement qualifications. Upon announcing his 2014 executive actions, Obama said his administration would stop targeting illegal immigrants who have not committed other crimes.
Republicans have blamed Obama’s immigration polices for contributing to the waves of unauthorized Central American immigrants illegally crossing into the U.S.
Donald Trump, who is set to clarify his immigration positions Wednesday night, has cast Obama as negligent in his immigration policies. While he previously vowed to deport all of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S. should he win the presidency, the Republican nominee recently shifted to a policy that appears to closely reflect Obama’s.
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, broke away from Obama’s immigration policies in March, pledged not to deport any undocumented immigrants excluding violent criminals and terrorists.