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A staggering 739,450 people overstayed their visas to become illegal immigrants in 2016, according to a new report released Monday by Homeland Security that suggests the immigration problem has shifted away from people sneaking in, and toward people who came legally but refused to leave when they were supposed to.

This report shows that we have a problem with visa overstays in the United States, a senior administration official said in briefing reporters on the new numbers, vowing to step up enforcement to try to cut down on the violations.

The Trump administrations report stands in contract to the Obama administration, which played down the numbers last year when officials released a similar report, focusing on the vast majority of travelers who did comply and leave when they were supposed to.

Indeed, more than 98.5 percent of those admitted through airports and seaports departed before their admissions expired in 2016. But the sheer amount of travel some 54 million visitors who came through those air and sea ports means that even that small overstay rate works out to nearly 740,000 illegal immigrants.

Some of the overstays were short-term, and they did leave eventually, but the majority were long-term problems. Nearly 630,000 were still in the U.S. at the end of 2016, for a persistent overstay rate of 1.25 percent.

Student visas holders were the worst offenders, with more than 5 percent of them breaking the terms of their visits and a persistent overstay rate of 2.8 percent.

Almost none of the visa overstays are investigated, Homeland Security officials told Congress last year. Just 2,500 visa overstay cases resulted in deportations in 2015, or a fraction of 1 percent of the problem.

While its difficult to know exact flows, some analysts say that for every illegal immigrant nabbed at the border, another one gets through. That means that fewer than 500,000 new illegal immigrants a year have snuck in.

Illegal overstays, meanwhile, easily top that number now, according to the new numbers.

Homeland Security experts say those who come legally then overstay have at least faced some scrutiny, often by State Department employees who issue visas, and then by border officers who make a final determination on everyone admitted. Thats different than border crossers, who face no inspection whatsoever, and where the identity of those who entered is entirely unknown.

Still, experts point out that at least five of the hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist plot were visa overstay.

The report is years overdue, and the Obama administration struggled to get it done, with then-Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson sending versions back for rewrites. A partial report was released last year, but it only covered basic tourist and business visas, not student visas or other categories that grant foreigners prolonged access and a chance to make a life in the U.S.

Those additional categories in this years report are likely one reason the numbers are higher.

The reports only cover arrivals and departures by air and sea, not land ports of entry, where inspection is less thorough though those crossing are usually locals who are going back and forth regularly, and stay near the border.

Most of the people are really just crossing within that border zone, a senior official said.

The biggest offenders even when just looking at airports and seaports were Canada and Mexico, which accounted for a combined 182,000 overstays.

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Visa overstays now biggest problem in illegal immigration - Washington Times

More than 800 houses of worship in America have volunteered to shelter illegal immigrants and their familieswho face deportation, CBS' "60 Minutes" reports.

Under President Donald Trump, Immigration, Customs and Enforcement has detained 11,000illegal immigrants who have no criminal record, twice as manyas last year.

When a law breaks the backs of God's people then it's time for us to think about breaking those laws, said Rev. Robin Hynicka of Philadelphia's Arch Street Methodist Church.

Hynicka's church has opened its doors toFlores Garcia, who has a deportation order against him because he repeatedly crossed the border and because of a decade-old DUI charge.

Thats injustice and oppression, all of which is evil, says Hynicka.

When a human being's human rights are denied, when they can't stay with their family, when they can't work, when they can't participate in the community in which they have deep roots, all of those apply.

In Buffalo, New York, a church has sheltered 40 illegal immigrants since Trump took office and vowed to crack down on illegal immigration. Last week, it offered sanctuary to a family of six from Honduras. Trump's administration has threatened to cut federal funding from sanctuary cities, including New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, but that battle is far from over.

ICE Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale told 60 Minutes he understandshow traumatic the deportation process can be for families.

But I will also say that the rule of law is something that America is built on.

Ragsdale said his advice for people like Garcia is, they should come out of the basement of the churches and follow the law.

2017 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

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'60 Minutes': 800-Plus Churches are Sanctuaries for Illegal Immigrants - Newsmax

Reuters

by John Binder22 May 2017Chicago, IL0

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The One Chicago campaign is designed to facilitate access of public services to foreign refugees, legal and illegal immigrants.

One Chicago is more than a campaign; it is a statement of faith, Emanuel said of the campaign in a statement. Chicago, like America, is not just a place on a map, but a set of ideals and values carried on through generations of immigrants, migrants, and refugees who came to Chicago in search of a better life for themselves and their families.

The campaign highlights the citys legal defense fund, in which illegal immigrants can receive taxpayer-funded attorneys in order to fight deportation orders in immigration courts. The organization the city has teamed up with to help illegal immigrants and foreign refugees is the Resurrection Project, which is vehemently opposed to any reforms or halts on immigration.

The efforts by Emanuel to further obstruct cooperation with the Trump Administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions on immigration issues come just as the City has refused to reverse its sanctuary status for illegal immigrants.

The Resurrection Project has praised Emanuels sanctuary policies, writing months ago We applaud Mayor Emanuel on his firm decision to stand by our community, taking the appropriate measures to guarantee that Chicago remains a welcoming city, where freedom and respect for immigrants no matter their origin are still upheld.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at@JxhnBinder.

Big Government, Breitbart Texas, Immigration, Amnesty, Breitbart Texas, Chicago, Crime, Illegal Immigrants, illegal immigration, Illinois, Immigrants, immigration, President Trump, Rahm Emanuel, refugees, Trump Administration, White House

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Chicago Mayor Emanuel Touts Social Services for Illegal Aliens - Breitbart News

To the editor:

In reference to the May 13 letter from Keith Sharp saying illegal immigrants have no place in the U.S., he is partially correct but woefully wrong.

Of course, illegal is illegal. That's where he is correct. But asserting illegal immigrants have no place in the U.S. is wrong. They are here and already have a place. They are an important part of the economy. Some work doing jobs we don't want and work for wages we won't accept. They raise families, pay taxes, and are integrated in most aspects or are in the process. Integration takes a generation, not six weeks in a language class. And many of these "illegals" are adults who are already in the mainstream of this country. We accept immigrants legally, but we do not require them to abandon their culture or language. Why would we treat illegal immigrants differently?

What about an infant brought here illegally, who has never known anything except the U.S., and is now a teenager or adult? This person had no say in the illegal entry. Do we offer no opportunity for citizenship just because the parents broke the law? How about the parents of a child born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants who is a U.S. citizen by definition? To deport the illegal parents would essentially also deport a U.S. citizen who has not broken any law. Either that or the child is removed from its parents without evidence of parental neglect.

Mr. Sharp is clearly wrong in his last paragraph. If 12 million U.S. citizens committed a federal crime, I think it safe to say that prosecuting them would be such an enormous task that it would not be done. In fact, that is actually happening. At least 12 million people are committing a federal crime right now with essentially zero consequence. Despite various laws making cultivation, possession and distribution of marijuana legal at the state level, it is a federal crime to cultivate, posses or distribute the stuff.

It is reasonable to conclude that nearly all illegal immigrants came here for the justifiable reasons Mr. Sharp outlined in his letter. We must find a way to resolve this issue in a compassionate way that lives up to the ideals of this country, especially as deporting 12 million people is a pipe dream, and to do it would wreck the economy. We must cease the unrealistic holier-than-thou blather about this issue and get down to the business of constructing a realistic solution.

Charlie I. Francis,

Becket

If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.

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Letter: Find realistic solution to illegal immigration - Berkshire Eagle (subscription)

Pence was delivering the commencement speech after receiving an honorary degree from the Catholic university, located in his home state of Indiana.

Videos showed some students standing as Pence took the podium, then walking out of the ceremony and gathering outside Notre Dame Stadium, where they held a short alternative "graduation ceremony."

Introducing Pence, University President Rev. John I. Jenkins said "political leaders are necessary for society, and we must strive with them to serve the common good."

Referring to "a fractured nation, with deep divisions and raw political feelings," Jenkins said injustice must be challenged; "But we must also listen to those who disagree, care for the bonds that join us together and find ways to build a society where all can flourish -- even the people who don't look like us, think like us, or vote with us."

Pence told the assembled graduates that Notre Dame was a "vanguard of freedom of expression and the free exchange of ideas."

"While this institution has maintained an atmosphere of civility and open debate, far too many campuses across America have become characterized by speech codes, safe spaces, tone policing, administration-sanctioned political correctness -- all of which amounts to the suppression of free speech," Pence said. "These practices are destructive of learning and the pursuit of knowledge."

He tweeted that he had been honored to speak at the ceremony.

Speaking on Sunday ahead of his graduation, Bryan Ricketts told CNN he would be walking out after learning solidarity during his time at Notre Dame.

Fellow protester Jenn Cha said it there needed to be space for dialogue between people of different beliefs. "However, it is an egregious insult to invite Pence to speak at the celebration of the accomplishments of university graduates, many of whom are LGBTQ, first-generation, low-income, and people of color he has actively supported legislation against," she said.

Liz Hynes said that Pence represented the kind of intolerance Notre Dame had sought to eliminate. "His anti-LGBT, anti-refugee, and anti-health care policies have harmed people in ways for which no religious justification can be made."

Pence is the first vice president to deliver a commencement speech at Notre Dame, according to the university.

Six presidents from both sides of the aisle have given commencement speeches at Notre Dame, including Barack Obama in 2009 and George W. Bush in 2001.

Pence received his bachelor's degree from Indiana's Hanover College and attended Indiana University School of Law.

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Some Notre Dame graduates walk out over VP Mike Pence speech - CNN