--- title: Deportations of Immigrant Minors Have Plummeted Under Obama description: The White House blames a 2008 law, while critics blame lenient new policies. canonical: https://time.com/2959887/obama-data-unaccompanied-minor-immigrants/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-06T15:36:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:01:09.724Z article:section: Politics og:title: Deportations of Immigrant Minors Have Plummeted Under Obama og:description: The White House blames a 2008 law, while critics blame lenient new policies. og:url: https://time.com/2959887/obama-data-unaccompanied-minor-immigrants/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9be2c95838f8b441/69869aa9169ab0eec127a3b6/rtr3ujae.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on a television from their holding area where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center in Nogales og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Deportations of Immigrant Minors Have Plummeted Under Obama twitter:description: The White House blames a 2008 law, while critics blame lenient new policies. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9be2c95838f8b441/69869aa9169ab0eec127a3b6/rtr3ujae.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Deportations of Immigrant Minors Have Plummeted Under Obama > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Obama Going Rogue on Immigration Reform [Watch (HLS stream): Obama Going Rogue on Immigration Reform](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zfq4B8AM.m3u8) (3:42)  _Published 2014-06-30. Obama scolds congress inaction as he announces immigration executive orders._  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Jul 6, 2014 3:36 PM UTC  Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on a TV from their holding area where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center in Nogales, Ariz., June 18, 2014. Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on a TV from their holding area where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center in Nogales, Ariz., June 18, 2014. Ross D. Franklin—Reuters  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Jul 6, 2014 3:36 PM UTC _Updated July 6, 3:50 p.m. E.T._ The number of immigrant youths under the age of 18 who are deported or turned away from entering the U.S. each year has [dropped significantly while President Obama has been in office](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-deport-children-20140706-story.html#page=1), new data from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency reveals. In 2008, under the George W. Bush Administration, the number was 8,143, but last year, the figure fell to 1,669, according to ICE data released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Los Angeles _Times_. While a decade ago around 600 minors were deported each year from nonborder states, that number also dropped to 95 last year, as the U.S. saw an influx of unaccompanied minors traveling from Central America that is five times greater than the number of unaccompanied minors who arrived two years earlier. The data arrives amid a debate about whether recent White House policies have led to the 52,000 immigrants under 18 who were caught by or surrendered to U.S. Border Patrol since October 2013\. The figures will lend credence to rumors, reportedly widespread in Central America, that the U.S. has softened its stance on deporting younger migrants. The Administration says the decline stems from a 2008 law signed by Bush that makes it difficult to send unaccompanied minors back to their home countries without putting them before an immigration judge. The Obama Administration recently asked Congress [for additional resources](http://time.com/2937878/white-house-immigration-unaccompanied-minors-central-america/), including more judges, to more quickly process the spike in unauthorized arrivals. The head of the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged on Sunday that the numbers had gone up, but [said](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/211392-dhs-chief-we-will-stem-this-tide) on NBC’s _Meet the Press_ that the Obama Administration is taking steps to reverse the flow. “I believe we will stem this tide,” said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Critics of the Obama Administration say recent policies, like a 2012 deportation-deferral program for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as minors before 2007, have worsened illegal attempts to cross the border. \[[_Los Angeles Times_](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-deport-children-20140706-story.html#page=1)\] ## Transcript Good afternoon everybody. One year ago this month, Senators of both parties with support from the business community, labor, law enforcement, faith communities came together to pass a common sense immigration bill. I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue and Congress chooses to do nothing. And in this situation, the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, it's bad for our economy, and it's bad for our future. And that's why today, I'm beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own. Without Congress. As a first step, I'm directing the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to move available and appropriate resources from our interior to the border. Protecting public safety and deporting dangerous criminals has been and will remain the top priority, but we are going to refocus our efforts where we can to make sure we do what it takes to keep our borders secure. I've told Speaker Boehner that even as I take those steps that I can, within my existing legal authorities, to make the immigration system work better, I'm gonna continue to reach out to House Republicans, in the hope that they deliver a more permanent solution with a comprehensive bill. Maybe it will be after the midterms, when they're less worried about politics. Maybe it will be next year. Whenever it is, they will find me a willing partner. I have been consistent in saying that I am prepared to work with them even on a bill that I don't consider perfect. And the Senate Bill was a good example of the capacity to compromise and get this done. The only thing I can't do is stand by and do nothing while waiting for them to get their act together. Let me just close by saying, Friday is the 4th of July. It's the day we celebrate our independence and all the things that make this country so great. And each year, Michelle and I host a few hundred service members and wounded warriors and their families right here on the lawn for a barbecue and fireworks on the mall. And some of the service members coming here are unique, because they signed up to serve. To sacrifice. Potentially to give their lives for the security of this country. Even though they weren't yet Americans, that's how much they love this country. They were prepared to fight and die for an America they did not yet fully belong to. I think they've earned their stripes in more ways than one. And that's why on Friday morning, we're going to naturalize them in a ceremony right here at the White House. This independence day will be their first day as American citizens. And one of the things we celebrate on Friday, one of the things that makes this country great is that we are a nation of immigrants. Our people come from every corner of the globe. That's what makes us special. That's what makes us unique. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2959887/obama-data-unaccompanied-minor-immigrants/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2959887/obama-data-unaccompanied-minor-immigrants/"},"headline":"Deportations of Immigrant Minors Have Plummeted Under Obama","datePublished":"2014-07-06T15:36:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:01:09.724Z","description":"A total of 8,143 immigrants under the age of 18 were deported in 2008, but last year that figure fell to 1,669","url":"https://time.com/2959887/obama-data-unaccompanied-minor-immigrants/","keywords":["Immigration","Barack Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9be2c95838f8b441/69869aa9169ab0eec127a3b6/rtr3ujae.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9be2c95838f8b441/69869aa9169ab0eec127a3b6/rtr3ujae.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on a television from their holding area where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center in Nogales","caption":"Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on a television from their holding area where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center in Nogales","creditText":"Ross D. 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