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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government deported fewer illegal immigrants in 2017 than it did last year, even as it arrested far more people suspected of being in the United States illegally, according to Department of Homeland Security statistics released on Tuesday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed approximately 226,000 people from the country in the 2017 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, down 6 percent from the previous year. The 2017 deportations were lower than at any time during the Obama administration, according to previous DHS statistics.

But ICE officers arrested far more suspected illegal immigrants in the months after President Donald Trump took office than in the same period last year. Between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30, the agency arrested nearly 111,000 people, a 42 percent increase over the prior year.

One reason for the decrease in deportations was that fewer people appeared to be trying to cross U.S. borders illegally. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported approximately 311,000 apprehensions in the 2017 fiscal year and 216,000 people trying to enter at official ports of entry despite being inadmissible. That was down 23.7 percent from the previous year.

"Overall removals are down because the border is under better control than it has been in 45 years," said Thomas Homan, the ICE deputy director, at a news conference.

Another reason for fewer deportations was that although immigration arrests are up, a burgeoning backlog in U.S. immigration courts has slowed the removal of immigrants who claim they will be harmed if they are deported to their home countries.

Trump made tough immigration policies a key part of his 2016 presidential campaign. Shortly after taking office, he expanded the categories of illegal immigrants the government targets for deportation, a change from the Obama administration's focus on those convicted of serious crimes.

But Homan disputed criticism from advocates and media reports that ICE officers are "conducting indiscriminate raids and sweeps, arresting people at churches, arresting people at hospitals."

"Every person we arrest we know exactly who we're going to arrest and where we're going to arrest them," he said.

Between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30, Homan said, 8 percent of the approximately 111,000 people arrested by ICE were "collateral arrests," or people who were not the original focus of the agency. He said most of those individuals were arrested in so-called "sanctuary cities," or jurisdictions that do not use local funds or resources to enforce federal immigration laws or that deny U.S. immigration officials access to local jails.

"We're going to arrest them either way," Homan said. "Chances are when we go to their homes, or place of business, we're going to find other illegal aliens that weren't even on our radar to begin with."

Trump administration officials said despite the lower numbers of people arrested at the border, Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is still needed.

"We're still arresting nearly 1,000 people a day coming across the border," said Ronald Vitiello, the CBP acting deputy commissioner. "We want that barrier to have a safer and more secure environment."

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judicial process / court cases / court decisions

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U.S. deportations down in 2017 but immigration arrests up

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government deported fewer illegal immigrants in 2017 than it did last year, even as it arrested far more people suspected of being in the United States illegally, according to Department of Homeland Security statistics released on Tuesday. U.S.

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Student activist Emma González led an emotional moment of silence at the "March for Our Lives" rally in Washington Saturday. The moment of silence lasted for 6 minutes and 20 seconds -- the duration of the gunman's rampage in Parkland, Florida. Chin high and tears streaming, González stood silent in front of thousands gathered for the event.

After calling out all 17 students' names, she led a long moment of silence that concluded her first 6 minutes, 20 seconds on stage.

She continued standing silently as a few crowd members shouted out support. She remained silent as tentative chants broke out. Her silence continued as those attending also fell quiet, many weeping.

"Since the time that I came out here, it has been 6 minutes and 20 seconds, the shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle and blend in with the students so he can walk free for an hour before arrest," González said, breaking her silence. "Fight for your lives before it is someone else's job."

González is one of several teens from Marjory Stoneman Douglas to become gun control activists in the wake of the shooting. Their efforts have galvanized youth nationwide, with hundreds of thousands attending similar rallies across the country.

González wrapped up the rally with some homework for those who demonstrated nationwide. "One final plug," she said. "Get out there and vote."
Over the past five weeks, after the murders of 17 people at the high school, CBS News has followed the students as they started a movement. It's all featured in CBS News' documentary "." You can watch the one-hour documentary .

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Emma González delivers moment of silence at "March for Our Lives"

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Student activist Emma González led an emotional moment of silence at the "March for Our Lives" rally in Washington Saturday. The moment of silence lasted for 6 minutes and 20 seconds -- the duration of the gunman's rampage in Parkland, Florida. Chin high and tears streaming, González stood silent in front of thousands gathered for the event.

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A ramp up in U.S.-China trade tensions - which many are predicting in the wake of a new round of tariff threats from both sides - would immediately result in an economic crisis, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller.

The Yale economist criticized U.S. President Donald Trump during a Saturday interview in Beijing, calling the U.S. commander-in-chief "a showman" who "obviously relishes" celebrity, but acts in a way that's "totally unbecoming for a president."

But he saved his strongest critique for the apparently increasing likelihood of a trade war between the U.S. and China. U.S. companies, he warned, are not prepared to have China cut out of their supply chains or business models.

"The immediate thing will be an economic crisis because these enterprises are built on long-term planning, they've developed a skilled workforce and ways of doing things. We have to rediscover these things in whatever country after the imports are cut off," he told CNBC at the annual China Development Forum.

"It's just chaos: It will slow down development in the future if people think that this kind of thing is likely," he added.

Perception becomes reality

Beijing on Friday said it may target 128 U.S. products with an import value of $3 billion in response to President Donald Trump's executive order earlier this month that imposed broad duties on foreign aluminum and steel imports.

The U.S. president had also announced tariff plans for up to $60 billion in Chinese imports, although China didn't officially connected its Friday threats of retaliation to that White House action.

The U.S. goods threatened by Beijing include wine, fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts, steel pipes, modified ethanol, and ginseng, the ministry said. Those products could see a 15 percent duty, while a 25 percent tariff could be imposed on U.S. pork and recycled aluminium goods, according to an official statement.

Shiller said he did not believe there would be a significant inflationary effect to the U.S. from steel and aluminum tariffs, but he warned that heated trade rhetoric from both sides could send the American economy reeling into a recession.

"When you ask about the size of the impact on the economy, I think a lot of it is more psychological than direct, unless they really slam on tariffs," he said. The Yale economist pointed to the "most famous tariff war of all" during the Great Depression, which he said did not "plausibly, directly" affect economic growth "in a major degree," but it may have helped "destroy confidence" and willingness to plan for the future.

"It's exactly those 'wait and see' attitudes that cause a recession," he explained.

'Totally unbecoming'

The global economy has been firing on all cylinders in recent months. A trade war could end that strong momentum, but the last year of growth means there's "a little capacity to absorb" any trade-related jitters, Shiller said.

By that token, he said, Trump's decision to go on the trade offensive could be deemed "good timing."

"If he did this during 2009 it would have been catastrophic," Shiller said. "But I think his timing is just his own personal timing for this: He's been president for a year, it's about time he does something that gets people's excitement going. He has a philosophy of life that that's what you have to do: If you want to stay famous, celebrity - which he obviously relishes - you've got to be constantly creating news."

On that point, the Nobel Prize winner recalled Trump's recent Twitter posts about former Vice President Joe Biden. The language of the president's message, Shiller said, "was like school yard 'I'm going to beat you up.'"

"It's totally unbecoming for a president," he added.

Trump tweet: Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn't know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don't threaten people Joe!

Shiller also questioned the fitness of others in the Trump administration, saying the president "has hired some extremist people." He cited Peter Navarro, the White House trade advisor who wrote books called "Death by China" and "The Coming China Wars."

"It seemed to me that no responsible president would give credence to that, but here we are. I think he's a showman who is doing this for political reasons within the U.S.," the economist said, pointing to the upcoming midterm elections and Trump's own attempt to get re-elected in 2020.
-CNBC's Nyshka Chandran contributed to this report.

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'Economic crisis' and 'chaos': Nobel-winner Shiller issues a warning on Trump's trade offensive

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A ramp up in U.S.-China trade tensions - which many are predicting in the wake of a new round of tariff threats from both sides - would immediately result in an economic crisis, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller. The Yale economist criticized U.S.

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The dim odds that Congress will respond to the Parkland school massacre with meaningful gun control and the flickering prospects it will pass immigration reform both reflect the same obstacle: the widening trench between the forces of transformation and restoration in American politics.

The convergence of the two policy debates today-with the nation reeling from Wednesday's shooting in Florida and the Senate voting down an array of proposals on immigration-is coincidental but revealing. Both issues illuminate the central divide between the parties as their political coalitions have sorted and separated along lines of race, generation, education, and geography. On both matters, Republicans are championing primarily non-urban and predominantly white constituencies that want fewer immigrants and more access to guns. Democrats reflect a mirror-image consensus: Their voters coming from diverse urban areas usually support more immigrants and fewer guns.

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The likelihood that Congress will ultimately stalemate on both issues-refusing to adopt any new restrictions on access to firearms and deadlocking over extending new protections to young people brought to the country illegally by their parents-is particularly striking given the overwhelming public support in polls for at least some action on both fronts. In polling last summer by the non-partisan Pew Research Center, 84 percent of adults said they supported background checks for all gun purchases (65 percent strongly), and 68 percent said they supported a ban on assault weapons (53 percent strongly).

Depending on the poll, up to about 85 percent of Americans say they support legal status for the so-called Dreamers, who have received temporary protection from deportation under former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. And while three-fifths of Americans in an ABC/ Washington Post poll last fall said they opposed building President Trump's border wall with Mexico, nonetheless about two-thirds of respondents said they would accept a legislative deal coupling protection for the Dreamers with increased border-security spending. Support for such a deal was even greater among Republican-leaning voters than Democratic-leaning ones. Despite this public support for legislation on both issues, it appears likely that Congress will pass nothing.

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The dim odds that Congress will respond to the Parkland school massacre with meaningful gun control and the flickering prospects it will pass immigration reform both reflect the same obstacle: the widening trench between the forces of transformation and restoration in American politics.

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His family says they couldn't even tell him goodbye.

Immigration officials arrested Syed Ahmed Jamal in his Lawrence front yard on Jan. 24 while he was taking his daughter to school.

The 7th-grade girl ran into the house to alert her mother and brother, while Jamal, a chemist, was handcuffed and led into a car. When his wife tried to hug him, an agent said she could be charged with interfering in an arrest, said son Taseen Jamal, 14.

Late on Feb. 1, supporters of his dad posted Syed Jamal's story online. In two days, a campaign had collected more than 10,000 signatures on a petition to stay the deportation of a man who arrived 30 years ago from Bangladesh to study and work in the United States.

Jamal, 55, is thought be detained in a Missouri jail 160 miles from his wife Angela Zaynaub Chowdhury, also from Bangladesh, and their three U.S. citizen children.

The oldest, Taseen, wrote on Facebook: "My little brother cries every night, my sister can't focus in school, and I cannot sleep at night...

"If my father is deported, my siblings and I may never get to see him again. He is an older man, and due to the conditions of his home country, he might not be able to survive."

One of the organizers of the Change.org petition, Susan Baker Anderson of Lawrence, called the effort a "humanitarian campaign," pleading that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, exercise discretion to keep a successful contributor to society from being separated from his family and career.

"There are cases where it's been granted," said Anderson, whose son attends gifted programs at the school of one of Jamal's children. "We're not just hitting at the wind."

Jeffrey Y. Bennett, a Kansas City lawyer retained by the Jamal family, said an immigration judge in 2011 put Jamal on "voluntary departure" notice as his visa status had become invalid. He was allowed to stay since then on a supervised basis, which meant reporting to ICE yearly to maintain a work permit.

President Donald Trump's new immigration policies have since targeted immigrants who were granted supervised stays. According to a Public Radio International story in May, about 2.5 million immigrants fall under this category and almost 80 percent have no criminal record. Jamal's story is similar to the one of the Detroit father who was deported to Mexico last month after living in the U.S. for 30 years.

Having taken post-graduate courses in molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Kansas, Jamal taught chemistry as an adjunct professor for several area colleges. He was most recently teaching at Park University.

Because of Jamal's strong work record, lack of criminal history, risks to his safety in Bangladesh and three American-born children who depend on him, ICE has the legal option to stay his removal, Bennett said.

"The problem is that the people who are helping to prosecute him (ICE) are the ones to decide that," said Bennett.

Jamal arrived in 1987 on a student visa to attend KU, his wife said. He returned briefly to Bangladesh and obtained an H-1B visa to work at Children's Mercy Hospital. Then he returned to KU to pursue a doctorate degree, trading his H-1B status for another student visa.

He has five siblings living in North America, all college-educated, said brother Syed Hussein Jamal of Arizona. "We're all U.S. citizens except for him. We're all in professional careers. He just was in the unfortunate situation of not having his status adjusted."

Syed Ahmed Jamal's backers said he likely would face persecution or even death at the hands of gangs back in Bangladesh. While living there, the Jamal family was among the Biharis ethnic minority who supported Pakistan in warfare that led to the independence of Bangladesh.

In a hand-penned letter sent from jail to his lawyer, Jamal wrote: "I will face a grave danger to my life for another important reason. That reason will largely have to do with my beloved profession of teaching and research.... (When) engaged in intellectual discussions, I tend to be outspoken since the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech."

Even if he were allowed to teach in Bangladesh, Jamal would be prohibited from questioning the actions of national leaders, he said.

ICE's public affairs office in Washington, D.C., confirmed to The Star that Jamal "is currently in ICE custody pending his removal to Bangladesh." In an e-mail the agency said his arrest came four years after the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Jamal's appeal of a "removal order."

Jamal's family said he is being held in Morgan County, Mo., which is contracted with ICE to keep detainees.

At the Jamals' home on Friday, Anderson and two Lawrence schoolteachers - Dani Lotton-Barker and Marci Lenschen - came by to help comfort the family. Lenschen said Syed Jamal served on parental advisory boards at his children's schools and last year made an unsuccessful bid for a vacant seat on the local school board.

"This is a man who stands for everything a school would hope for in a father," she added.

Taseen wrote on Facebook, "A home is not a home without a father." He is also concerned about the stress it puts on his mother, who is a living organ donor with one kidney.

Mary Lingwall of Lawrence left this comment on the online petition: "I am shocked and saddened. Syed helped my elderly mother for many years. He took her to do her shopping, carried all her things up for her, took her to the bank, and even put her many medications in her med box. ... Syed is a great man, a very devoted family man, and a valuable part of our community. I wish I knew what other things we can do to help. We have to pull together here. This cannot happen!"

A GoFundMe account was created Friday to help the Jamal family pay for legal expenses while they fight for a stay of removal. On Saturday, Feb. 3, hundreds turned out for two sessions in Lawrence to write letters to Homeland Security in Jamal's support.

In a Feb. 2 letter to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, attorney Bennett said a temporary stay of removal would allow Jamal to a file a court motion to have his immigration case reopened. "We request at least THREE weeks to prepare and submit this Motion if this request is granted," Bennett wrote.

Letter-writing sessions

On Saturday, Feb. 3, Syed Jamal's supporters are inviting others to write letters to Homeland Security at two events in Lawrence. The sessions will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. at Plymouth Congregational Church and from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Lawrence Islamic Center.

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Kansas chemistry instructor arrested by ICE while taking his daughter to school

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His family says they couldn't even tell him goodbye. Immigration officials arrested Syed Ahmed Jamal in his Lawrence front yard on Jan. 24 while he was taking his daughter to school. The 7th-grade girl ran into the house to alert her mother and brother, while Jamal, a chemist, was handcuffed and led into a car.

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Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Sunday that students who have rallied for gun control should instead learn CPR or find their own way to prevent a school shooting. "How about kids instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem, do something about maybe taking CPR classes or trying to deal with situations that when there is a violent shooter that you can actually respond to that," the Republican said on CNN's "State of the Union."

The 2012 and 2016 presidential candidate said students could work to stop bullying in their communities or respond themselves to a shooter instead of asking lawmakers to approve legislation to protect them.

Santorum's comments prompted outrage on social media a day after hundreds of thousands of teenagers and their supporters rallied across the U.S. to push for tougher laws to fight gun violence.

The demonstrations Saturday were led by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed last month.

Santorum said that if the rallies are about more than politics, then the country needs to have a broader discussion that doesn't revolve around "phony gun laws" that don't work.

"They took action to ask someone to pass a law," he said of the demonstrators. "They didn't take action to say, 'How do I, as an individual, deal with this problem?

CNN reported that Santorum's comments prompted a response from Everytown for Gun Safety program manager Erica Lafferty. Lafferty's mother was shot and killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

"Rick Santorum's words are an insult to the kids of Parkland, my family and to the countless others who have had loved ones taken by gun violence," Lafferty said in a statement. "My mother was killed while protecting her students at Sandy Hook School. For anyone to suggest that the solution to gun violence is for kids to learn CPR is outrageous, and indicative of the NRA's desire to do or say anything except strengthen America's weak gun laws."

More than 200,000 people attended the demonstration in Washington D.C. on Saturday, according to Digital Design & Imaging Service Inc (DDIS).

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Rick Santorum: Students should learn CPR, not rally for "phony gun laws"

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Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Sunday that students who have rallied for gun control should instead learn CPR or find their own way to prevent a school shooting.