Criminal charges were the basis of only six of the roughly 1,500 deportation cases filed in Charlotte through April, according to a report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
The bulk of the nearly 1,550 deportations are based on people illegally entering the country.
That’s not surprising, says Sharon Dove, who heads the Immigrant Justice Program at Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy.
"They're just being removed because they crossed the border without travel documentation or they crossed the border not at a port of entry and are here without inspection or parole," Dove said.
The deportation statistics were similar in 2020. Only 19 of nearly 4,000 immigrants were deported because of criminal charges.
WFAE reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment regarding the agency's process of identifying immigrants with criminal charges that are placed in removal proceedings.
"In accordance with the civil immigration enforcement priorities directed by DHS, ICE is focusing its limited resources on national security, border security, and public safety," an agency spokesperson said via email. "ICE will continue to carry out the duties of enforcing the laws of the United States to further the security and safety of our communities."
