A Time for Congressional Compassion to Immigrants

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Undocumented immigrants have been deported at record rates in recent months largely because of the get-tough immigration law passed last year.

By June 30, the Immigration and Naturalization Service had reported some 76,000 deportations for the previous nine months, an increase of more than 7,000 over the number deported in the entire preceding year.

More than 32,200 people were deported from April through June alone -- and those numbers don't include the more than 57,000 aliens who left the country without being formally deported.

Under the 1996 immigration law foreigners arriving at U.S. airports and other ports of entry without proper documents are …