The number of sanctuary cities in the US has been significantly reduced under the Obama administration. But, there remain as many as 279 municipalities that still refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in at least some instances involving undocumented immigrants. This was according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security last week when they revealed details of the year’s enforcement figures.
Sanctuary cities released more than 2000 undocumented immigrants rather than handing them over to federal immigration authorities during the 2016 fiscal year. The pace for the first two months of the 2017 fiscal year, which started on 1 October, suggests that the figure may go even higher this fiscal year.
The numbers were included in the end of year immigration enforcement update from the Department of Homeland Security. The department noted that border agents are reporting a greater number of undocumented immigrants trying to cross over into the US – a situation that is described by some as a new surge of immigration. But, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is catching far fewer immigrants inside the US as President Barack Obama delivers on his pledge to stop the deportation of anyone other than the most serious undocumented criminal immigrants.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended 114,000 undocumented immigrants in 2016. This was the lowest figure during Obama’s White House tenure and represents only one percent of the approximately 11 million such immigrants estimated to be living in the US.