The watchdog emphasized a 43-percent increase in deportations after convictions for drug possession (almost 20,000 of deported in 2012) and the fact that over 34,000 non-citizens were deported from the country during the five-year period for marijuana possession.
The report called on President Barack Obama's administration to stop pursuing the deportation strategy, categorically assuming any person with a criminal conviction represents a threat to public safety.
“By designating all immigrants convicted in that system as dangerous criminals, the administration is perpetuating these failures and devastating many of the [minority and poor] communities,” Grace Meng, the author of the report, said.
HRW pointed out that while many US states are decriminalizing some drugs, federal immigration policy imposes exile for the same offenses.
