Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, July 7, 2017

The Trump administration has bolstered its campaign to deport criminal illegal immigrants by getting countries to stop blocking the transfers and take them back, according to key Homeland Security officials.

Led by its success in getting Iraq to shift gears, the administration is looking to cut the number of “recalcitrant nations” even further as it speeds up the arrest of illegal immigrants and visa overstayers who have criminal records.

“It is big news. It shows that some of these countries see that they can’t get away with stiff arming us anymore, that there will be consequences,” said Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies.

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“Working with our partners at the Department of State, ICE has made significant progress over the past year to improve cooperation on removals – including reducing the number of recalcitrant countries from 23 in May 2016 to 12 in May 2017,” an ICE official told Secrets. “The recent agreement with the government of Iraq is one example, and we will continue our efforts to encourage greater cooperation.”

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“I am confident that the number of deadbeat countries can be reduced even further – for starters, China and Hong Kong should be the focus of pressure. On the at-risk list, there is no way places like Bermuda should be stiff-arming us. Others, like Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan, have a lot to lose if they don’t cooperate more fully. There are plenty of visa programs that could be turned off in a heartbeat if they do not improve very soon,” Vaughan suggested.

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