Federal program aimed at dangerous criminals, used to deport nonviolent immigrants

Although President Obama maintains that federal officials are focusing deportation efforts on violent criminals, a Baltimore Sun analysis revealed that a high percentage of the cases in Maryland and some other states involve immigrants with no criminal record. In Maryland, for example, more than 40 percent of the immigrants deported under a sweeping federal program called Secure Communities have no prior criminal record — twice the national average. The Sun told the story through the eyes of families affected deportations.