Deportation nation: not going home.

• Author: Steigerwald, Lucy
• Position: Citings - Brief article

IN SEPTEMBER, the Obama administration registered its millionth deportation. Yet despite the fact that George W. Bush managed only 1.5 million in eight years, the Obama administration claims to be taking a more humanitarian approach to illegal immigrants. In a September forum with journalists, the president pointed to a new directive from the Department of Homeland Security telling enforcement officers to prioritize the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes other than immigration violations.

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But a controversial policy highlighted by the Los Angeles Times that same month casts doubt on claims about a kinder, gentler immigration policy. Under the Alien Transfer Exit Program, which is aimed at breaking...