Immigration arrests and deportations in New Jersey are the highest they've been since Donald Trump won the presidential election. But despite the hard-line rhetoric from the White House, enforcement actions are not as high as when Barack Obama was in office.

The Enforcement and Removal Operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement recorded 3,409 arrests and 2,608 removals based out of the Newark regional office during the 2018 fiscal year, data released Friday shows.

Arrests in the state increased by 220 from the previous year and by 1,162 since 2016, while deportations increased by 72 since 2017 and by 756 since 2016.

The enforcement, however, is still a way from the high of 4,453 arrests and 4,361 removals in 2013, records show.

The ERO arm of ICE increased arrests after Trump took office, prompting some states and municipalities to limit local police cooperation with ICE on civil immigration actions.

New Jersey this month adopted new policies that restrict police officers from enforcing civil immigration law and prohibit county jails from detaining inmates wanted by ICE past their release date. The directives do not prevent authorities from arresting and prosecuting people charged with violent offenses.

Despite the lack of cooperation, ICE detainers nationally have increased from more than 86,000 in 2016 to more than 177,000 this year.

"This number demonstrates the large volume of illegal aliens involved in criminal activity and the public safety risk posed by these aliens, as well as ERO’s commitment to taking enforcement action against all illegal aliens it encounters," according to the 2018 ERO report released by ICE on Friday.

In response to the state Attorney General's Office directive, ICE officials warned that enforcement actions would likely increase in New Jersey, including in public spaces and workplaces.

Nationally this year, ICE arrested 158,581 people suspected of being in the country illegally, an 11 percent increase over 2017. Almost all of them — 90 percent — had criminal convictions. Nearly a quarter were facing new criminal charges.

ICE placed far more people in detention to await immigration proceedings. This year, ICE booked 396,448 people in detention facilities, a 22.5 percent increase. Book-ins from arrests by Customs and Border Patrol increased by 32 percent, which ICE said illustrates "a surge in illegal border crossings."

The agency also deported 256,086 people who had been in the country illegally, an increase of 13 percent. About 57 percent of those deported had criminal convictions, while more than 5,900 were known or suspected gangsters, ICE said.

Below are all the countries that the deported immigrants were citizens of.

Country20172018
MEXICO128,765141,045
GUATEMALA33,57050,390
HONDURAS22,38128,894
EL SALVADOR18,83815,445
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC1,9861,769
BRAZIL1,4131,691
ECUADOR1,1521,264
COLOMBIA1,0821,162
HAITI5,578934
NICARAGUA832879
JAMAICA782792
CHINA525726
INDIA460611
PERU458581
CUBA160463
ROMANIA292403
NIGERIA312369
CANADA353342
VENEZUELA248336
GHANA305243
PAKISTAN177235
SOMALIA521229
GUINEA88219
PHILIPPINES182217
SPAIN172209
UNITED KINGDOM151209
CHILE129166
COSTA RICA151162
BANGLADESH203147
GUYANA137142
KENYA103140
SAUDI ARABIA139135
ITALY117125
SENEGAL197125
POLAND120123
SOUTH KOREA113122
VIETNAM71122
ARGENTINA102121
LIBERIA107113
GAMBIA56111
CAMBODIA29110
INDONESIA68110
RUSSIA127107
UKRAINE86105
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO128104
BAHAMAS95101
MICRONESIA11099
ALBANIA5598
MAURITANIA898
PORTUGAL6596
JORDAN9894
ISRAEL8193
BELIZE8291
EGYPT5785
FRANCE8285
TURKEY9385
IVORY COAST1382
BOLIVIA7681
HUNGARY11681
DEM REP OF THE CONGO3479
SIERRA LEONE4479
CAMEROON5872
GERMANY7572
CAPE VERDE2968
MALI3463
ERITREA4162
SOUTH SUDAN261
PANAMA6959
MOROCCO6758
THAILAND3355
LEBANON3551
LITHUANIA2649
IRAQ6148
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA4747
CZECH REPUBLIC3047
IRELAND3447
URUGUAY3847
NEPAL4545
SOUTH AFRICA2342
SUDAN1942
UNKNOWN2642
UZBEKISTAN2841
BURMA1040
NETHERLANDS4040
AUSTRALIA2239
MOLDOVA3438
ETHIOPIA4636
SRI LANKA4136
BURKINA FASO3135
MARSHALL ISLANDS2235
SLOVAKIA2035
BULGARIA2634
ANGOLA732
KOREA4432
AFGHANISTAN4830
KAZAKHSTAN1430
SAMOA1330
SERBIA1830
JAPAN1328
MONGOLIA2328
ST. LUCIA2328
ARMENIA2427
TAIWAN2827
ANTIGUA-BARBUDA1924
NEW ZEALAND1624
TOGO1924
YEMEN1024
GREECE2022
IRAN2222
FIJI1321
TONGA1321
GEORGIA2220
DOMINICA1019
SURINAME719
SWEDEN1919
TANZANIA1319
ZIMBABWE1219
CONGO518
MACEDONIA1018
MONTENEGRO918
ALGERIA2817
BARBADOS1917
BELGIUM917
LATVIA1917
TUNISIA716
HONG KONG915
KYRGYZSTAN1715
ST. KITTS-NEVIS1615
AZERBAIJAN814
BURUNDI614
KOSOVO1014
CHAD713
ESTONIA1213
ST. VINCENT-GRENADINES1013
UGANDA1113
CROATIA512
ZAMBIA1012
KUWAIT1211
MALAYSIA811
BELARUS1010
BENIN810
GRENADA159
PALAU159
LAOS58
LIBYA98
TAJIKISTAN98
AUSTRIA77
NORWAY47
SYRIA27
GABON36
PARAGUAY56
SINGAPORE46
BERMUDA35
EQUATORIAL GUINEA25
GUINEA-BISSAU45
NIGER205
YUGOSLAVIA45
CZECHOSLOVAKIA64
SWITZERLAND54
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS44
CYPRUS13
DJIBOUTI13
FINLAND33
MALAWI43
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC12
DENMARK52
ICELAND12
NAMIBIA12
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES22
QATAR42
RWANDA102
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO22
TURKMENISTAN92
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES32
ARUBA11
BAHRAIN11
BHUTAN01
BOTSWANA31
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS31
GUADELOUPE01
LESOTHO01
MACAU01
MADAGASCAR11
MALDIVES01
MONTSERRAT01
PAPUA NEW GUINEA11
SLOVENIA11
ANDORRA10
CAYMAN ISLANDS20
FRENCH GUIANA10
LUXEMBOURG10
MAURITIUS10
MOZAMBIQUE20
OMAN30
SAN MARINO10
SWAZILAND10

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