IMMIGRATION AND POLITICS REPORTE
Tens of thousands of people who successfully enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program carried prior arrest records, according to data the Trump administration released Saturday.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services â the agency under the Department of Homeland Security that is tasked with managing the countryâs legal immigration system â released a report Saturday detailing the arrest history of those who requested, and received, approval for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
In total, there were nearly 889,000 applicants for the DACA program. Roughly 110,000 of those who applied had an arrest record â making up 12% of total applicants. Offenses for some of these arrests included murder, rape, battery, assault and driving while intoxicated, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
More notably, of the 765,166 individuals who were granted DACA status, 79,398 had a prior arrest. This translates to 1 in 10 DACA recipients carrying an arrest record. Nearly 25,000 requesters who were approved were arrested more than once.
âAs DACA continues to be the subject of both public discourse and ongoing litigation, USCIS remains committed to ensuring transparency and that the American people are informed about those receiving DACA,â outgoing USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli said in a statement Saturday.
âThis agency is obligated to continue accepting DACA requests from illegal aliens as a direct result of the previous administrationâs decision to circumvent the laws as passed by Congress. We hope this data provides a better sense of the reality of those granted the privilege of a temporary deferral of removal action and work authorization under DACA,â Cuccinelli continued.