The White House presented an explanation for the historical number of deportations during the first five years of government of president Barack Obama, pointing out that most of them respond to criteria set by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office.

Presidential spokesman Jay Carney said that, according to such criteria, even those convicted of minor offenses catch the attention of the ICE if they do it again and again.

He said that during 2013, some 98% of the deportations conducted by the ICE met “one or more of their priorities for civilian deportations”, but he did not define those priorities.

“Besides the criminals, the priorities of the agency include those who tried to enter the U.S. illegally, those who reentered illegally and the fugitives from the immigration courts”, he said in a press conference.

Carney responded to an analysis by The New York Times, which pointed out that the deportations, based on official data, have been focused on people with no criminal records or just minor offenses, and not on dangerous individuals like the president insists.

According to the Times, out of the around two million individuals deported in the last five years, only 20% have been convicted of serious crimes, some even with drug trafficking.

According to the same information, the deportations of illegal aliens, whose greatest crimes are related to driving under the influence or without a license, went from 43,000 during the first five years of government of previous president George Bush to 193,000 during the first five years of Obama.