October 9, 2010 - In fiscal year (FY) 2010, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed more illegal aliens than in any other period in the history of our nation. ICE removed more than 392,000 illegal aliens-half of them, more than 195,000-were convicted of crimes, including murder, sex offenses and drug violations. 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton announced the record-breaking numbers at a news conference on Oct. 6, 2010 held at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

"Since the beginning of this administration, we have fundamentally changed the federal government's approach to immigration enforcement," said Napolitano.

"We use ? Secure Communities to find out which inmates need to have their immigration status looked at by ICE as soon as their local criminal case is over," said Garcia. With the Harris County, Texas, agency as one of the first to participate in Secure Communities, "We're a national model of how the program works smoothly at high volume." 

"Secure Communities is an excellent program," said Barry. "The program identifies individuals who are here in our country illegally and commit serious crimes?There's no additional workload for our staff and does not cost a dime to Fairfax County or to our residents." 

ICE's worksite enforcement numbers also climbed to historic high numbers in FY 2010, with more audits of businesses than ever before, as well as increases in prosecutions of employers who repeatedly and egregiously hire illegal workers. Enforcing worksite laws not only promotes fairness in the workplace, but it also substantially reduces the incentive for aliens to enter the United States illegally.