Chris Hayes On Maddow: Obama Has Deported More Illegals Than Bush

On MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow tonight, The Nation Washington editor and fill-in host Chris Hayes brought up an interesting factoid that could impact how the right perceives the Obama administration’s handling of illegal immigration: more illegal immigrants have been deported under Obama than were during George W. Bush‘s tenure, with an emphasis on those who have other crimes on their record.

Yes, it’s true: the Obama administration has, as Hayes put it, been “changing immigration reform policy so that they can kick more people out of the country,” especially those who have committed crimes other than crossing the border. According to Hayes, this policy is leading to “thousands of ordinary illegal immigrants being deported,” which he perceives as a bad use of resources, assuming most illegal immigrants are not hazards to society. But, beyond that, Hayes contends that it’s bad politics, as “no amount of deportation short of 100% will satisfy the people the President appears to be pandering to with this policy shift,” and most of those people (as well as, it seems, many on the left) “havent even noticed” that the Obama administration is being tougher on illegals than the Bush administration. (Note this post has been edited since its original airing.)

Video via MSNBC below:

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