Immigrant detention centers in New Mexico and Arizona have the highest percentage of deportations in the country, according to newly released report from the Transactional Records Access Clearing House, or TRAC.
The report, released this week, complied state by state data on detention centers run by Immigration Customs and Enforcement, or ICE. TRAC is an independent data research center housed at Syracuse University.
The data shows that detainees first admitted to facilities in New Mexico or Arizona have a more than 80 percent chance of being deported. The national average among ICE detention centers is 66 percent.
If not deported, some detainees may be placed under supervised release or agree to a voluntary return. The report does not state why deportation rates are higher in some states versus others.
Katie Hudak the executive director of Las Americas, an immigrant advocacy center in El Paso, Texas says the numbers could be influenced by a number of factors including access to legal representation, proximity to the border or individual administrative practices at different detention centers.
New Mexico has one ICE detention facility, while Arizona has five.
