Under Trump, old deportation orders get new life

Immigrants who already have deportation orders and were allowed to stay in the country under the prior administration have become a target under President Donald Trump's new immigration policies, with some getting arrested on the spot during check-ins with officers.

Others have been released much like they were during President Barack Obama's administration in what immigration attorneys say appears to be a random series of decisions based more on detention space than public safety.

Agents still consider requests to delay deportations at immigrants' regularly scheduled check-ins if, for example, someone has a medical condition, said David Marin, who oversees enforcement and removal operations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles.

Many immigrants with old deportation orders have lived in the United States for years and set down roots here despite having no legal status, which deportation agents were known to weigh to decide who was a priority for removal.

Under the Obama administration, immigration lawyers said their clients often were told they faced no immediate risk of being deported and could temporarily remain, so long as they committed no crimes.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said he believes deportations will rise as the Trump administration continues to arrest immigrants here illegally and that authorities will focus more on the interior of the country as activity on the southern border declines.

Alex Nowrasteh, immigration policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, said authorities already are deporting immigrants from the jails, and illegal immigration from Mexico has waned, prompting the Trump administration to look for ways to satisfy campaign supporters.