U.S. Immigration Deported 400,000 in 2011

Number is highest in agency's history

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Tuesday it deported almost 400,000 individuals during its last fiscal year, which ended in September. ICE Director John Morton said it was the largest haul in the agency’s history.

Fifty-five percent of the 396,906 deported had felony or misdemeanor convictions, but didn’t indicate how many of those were immigration-related.

"Smart and effective immigration enforcement relies on setting priorities for removal and executing on those priorities," Morton 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. Though we still have work to do, this progress is a testament to the hard work and dedication of thousands of ICE agents, officers and attorneys around the country."

The ICE provided numbers and classification on crime; 1,119 were convicted of homicide, and 5,848 were sex offenders and 80,580 had been convicted of drug-related crimes.