The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICS) has announced that it will assist those illegal immigrants with clean records who turn themselves in by August 22, 2008 to be deported without being detained. The USCIS estimates that there are 457,000 eligible illegal immigrants who have the chance to turn themselves in, get their affairs in order and leave the country without being detained. The offer extends to eligible illegal immigrants in Santa Ana, San Diego, Chicago, Phoenix and Charlotte, N.C., as part of the agency’s new Scheduled Departure Program.
Immigration officials stated that out of the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, about 572,000 are fugitives. However, roughly 20 percent of them are ineligible to participate because they have criminal histories. Critics of the offer claim that it is unlikely the offer will be accepted, and expect very few to turn themselves in.
