92 percent of illegal immigrant families ignore deportations, Lindsey Graham says

Nearly every illegal immigrant family slated for deportation over the last six months has ignored those orders, according to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. A staggering 92 percent of family members failed to appear at their deportation hearings in the months since September, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican. He said he obtained those numbers from Ron Vitiello, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “The system is broken and overwhelmed,” Mr. Graham tweeted. “It is a national emergency!” The revelation came a day after Kevin McAleenan, head of Customs and Border Protection, said the border had reached a “breaking point,” with more than 100,000 illegal immigrants projected to be nabbed this month alone. He said things are so bad that the Border Patrol has had to reinstitute catch-and-release of illegal immigrants newly nabbed at the border. Those who aren’t held usually disappear into the shadows, and Mr. Graham’s new numbers show they rarely turn up for their eventual court cases and deportations. LINK