Obama has insisted that he will focus on deporting criminals, not families struggling to earn a living. (presenteorg, Creative Commons)

He said, “These year-end totals indicate that we are making progress, with more convicted criminals, recent border crossers, egregious immigration law violators and immigration fugitives being removed from the country than ever before.”

More than half of those deported were illegal immigrants with criminal records; many of them had been arrested for drunk driving or traffic violations.

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