Deportations of undocumented immigrants dropped 10 percent in 2013, the first annual decline in a decade, because a shift in enforcement strategy under President Barack Obama has increased the time it takes to complete cases, immigration officials said.
The U.S. deported 368,644 undocumented immigrants during the 12 months that ended Sept. 30. That compares to a record 409,900 removals the previous year, according to ICE records.
"We did a better job of identifying serious criminals" and "serious criminal cases take more time," U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement acting director John Sandweg said recently.
Deportations are at the center of a debate in Washington over whether to change the nation's immigration laws to provide a path to citizenship for some of the estimated 12 million people living in the U.S. illegally. While Republicans generally insist on tougher enforcement, some Democrats and advocates for immigrants have criticized Obama for not doing more to halt deportations.
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