Once again, Justin Ruhge demonstrated in his response to Ken McCalip’s excellent letter (“Misdeeds in La-La Land,” Aug. 9) that he’s been gulping the red Kool-Aid being brewed by the current administration and Fox News (“Too much Kool-Aid,” Aug. 16). There are so many mistruths in Ruhge’s homage to Donald Trump, one hardly knows where to begin, but I will try this one: immigration under President Barack Obama.
Ruhge falsely claims that under President Obama’s watch, he “deliberately” failed to secure the (southern) border and allowed “millions [to] flow in.” Here are the actual numbers from the official website of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), dhs.gov. Between 2010 and 2014, 500,000 unauthorized immigrants entered the U.S., the middle years of President Obama’s two terms, or an average of 125,000 per year. According to the DHS, this number is in sharp contrast to the 500,000 unauthorized immigrants who entered the U.S. each year prior to 2007.
Again, according to the DHS, 55 percent of the unauthorized immigrants in 2014 were from Mexico, compared to 59 percent in 2007. Almost half of the unauthorized immigrants have been in the U.S. for more than 10 years. Another 20 percent have been in the U.S. for more than five years. The DHS calls unauthorized immigration between 2010-2014 “relatively stable.” And, in case you missed it, the Obama administration deported unauthorized immigrants at a faster rate than any other president in U.S. history, about 2 million in his first five years in office, which outraged immigrant rights groups and progressive Democrats.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 6, 2018.