New Law Boosts U.S. Deportations

The number of illegal immigrants ejected from the country this year is nearly 50% higher than at the same time last year--thanks in part to tougher immigration rules Congress passed in 1996. Preliminary figures show that the Immigration and Naturalization Service deported 75,743 people during the nine-month period that ended June 30, 49.3% more than the 50,714 evicted from the country during the same period in 1996. INS General Counsel David Martin said the 1996 immigration law helped drive up the number of noncriminal deportations by 64%. Under the law, immigrants arriving at U.S. airports and other ports of entry without proper documents are refused entry into the country “unless there is a credible asylum claim or a claim to permanent resident status,” the INS said.