DHS chief concedes to Sessions that ‘large number’ of illegal immigrants are caught but not deported

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April 28, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax9V-IfFk3k
(Video above: Sessions questions DHS chief Jeh Johnson)

WASHINGTON — Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in a tense hearing Tuesday before the Judiciary Committee.

“Let me ask you this,” Sessions began, “just a fundamental question. How many aliens with final orders of removal are currently in the United States and have not been removed?”

Sec. Johnson responded that he didn’t have that number on hand, but he knew it to be “a large number,” and “an unacceptable number.”

Sessions then quoted statistics compiled by the Border Patrol, who estimate that 479,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the country’s southern border in fiscal year 2014.

“How many of those remain currently in the United States?” Sessions asked.

Johnson answered that “a lot of those” had been removed, but as many of them were from non-contiguous countries, so the U.S. was unable to simply ship them back across the border.

“I think you need to be able to tell us how many of those have actually not been deported, but have successfully entered the country through that illegal process,” Sessions shot back.

Johnson said he would be able to provide the number at a later time.

Sessions is undeniably the standard-bearer for conservatives on the topic of immigration. Earlier this month talk show host Rush Limbaugh praised the Senator for his stance, calling him “right on the money, well-spoken and brilliant.”