by KYW's John McDevitt
With a Census Bureau estimate of nearly 2½ million foreign-born citizens living in Philadelphia's tri-state area, more than one million are estimated not to have citizenship. And the federal government is stepping up enforcement against illegal immigrants.
Since the US Department of Homeland Security was created in 2003, its Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") agents have been cracking down on undocumented immigrants.
Harold Ort is public affairs officer for ICE's New Jersey region:
"We are ramping up work site enforcement operations. We are ramping up our fugitive operations program. And we are going to continue to do that locally, nationally, and regionally. We are merely enforcing the law."
Ort runs down some numbers of deported or "removed" individuals from New Jersey alone:
"Mexico leads the pack. In FY 2008 we have removed 138,190 (Mexican) individuals. Number two is Honduras. As an example, back to 2003, 8,160 (Hondurans deported). Today (fiscal year 2008), 17,496. Guatemala, in 2008 thus far, 17,276."
ICE says Indonesians top the list of illegals being arrested in the Philadelphia jurisdiction so far this year, followed by Mexicans and then Hondurans.
"Staying in the United States illegally is frankly becoming less attractive as the probability of being arrested and detained is really greater than ever before."
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