Director Morton announced the removal by ICE of 409,849 individuals from the U.S. for FY 2012.  He emphasized ICE’s goal to target the removal of the most serious criminal offenders.  In the past, under the 287(g) program, ICE teamed up with state and local law enforcement to retain and remove undocumented individuals that might have violated traffic laws or engaged in misdemeanors.  However, the agency will no longer be allocating resources to those efforts.  Critics of the 287(g) program have voiced that it diverts attention away from crime fighting and insights racial profiling. To date, four Florida agencies took part in the program, including the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department and Florida Department of Law Enforcement. To read more, click here.