The Obama administration's federal directive would allow agents to use discretion when determining whether a deportation case should be classified as low-priority. Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Secretary, said that the administration is "mak[ing] good use of strained resources" by allowing agents to prioritize cases. Some examples of immigrants who are here illegally but would be allowed to stay are "elderly people, children, military veterans, college students and parents of young citizens," according to the report. While these cases would be closed, they would not be cancelled. Essentially, low-priority individuals would remain without legal immigration status.
A spokesman for the National ICE Council said during a congressional testimony in October 2011 that the new policy forces ICE agents "to not enforce the law" and that "law enforcement and public safety have taken a back seat to attempts to satisfy immigrant advocacy groups."
Napolitano said that "each deportation cost[s] at least $23,000...immigration agencies have money for 400,000 removals a year, a goal that the Obama administration has met in each of the post three years." With 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States, the agents were ordered to focus on "the worst offenders, including criminal convicts, gang members and foreigners who came back after being expelled."
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