U.S. immigration arrests down 27% in 2020, a trend activists hope Biden will continue

U.S. immigration arrests fell by 27% in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic led to fewer border crossings and reduced operations, a falloff that pro-immigrant activists say should continue when President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on Wednesday that it arrested roughly 104,000 immigration law violators in fiscal year 2020, which ended on Sept. 30. ICE arrested 143,000 during the previous year.

The agency deported 186,000 people this year, a 30 percent decline from a year earlier.

Outgoing President Donald Trump, a Republican,...