From our "I'll believe it when I see it" file comes news that the Obama administration plans to deport "hundreds" of illegal alien families who have been ordered out of the country by an immigration judge.

During the border surge last year, more than 100,000 families entered the US illegally from Central America.

See? The Obama administration really is serious about sending those people back. (Sarc off/)

Washington Post:

The nationwide campaign, to be carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as soon as early January, would be the first large-scale effort to deport families who have fled violence in Central America, those familiar with the plan said. More than 100,000 families with both adults and children have made the journey across the southwest border since last year, though this migration has largely been overshadowed by a related surge of unaccompanied minors.

The ICE operation would target only adults and children who have already been ordered removed from the United States by an immigration judge, according to officials familiar with the undertaking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because planning is ongoing and the operation has not been given final approval by DHS. The adults and children would be detained wherever they can be found and immediately deported. The number targeted is expected to be in the hundreds and possibly greater.

The proposed deportations have been controversial inside the Obama administration, which has been discussing them for several months. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has been pushing for the moves, according to those with knowledge of the debate, in part because of a new spike in the number of illegal immigrants in recent months. Experts say that the violence that was a key factor in driving people to flee Central America last year has surged again, with the homicide rate in El Salvador reaching its highest level in a generation. A drought in the region has also prompted departures.

The pressure for deportations has also mounted because of a recent court decision that ordered DHS to begin releasing families housed in detention centers.

Although Johnson has signaled publicly for months that Central American families not granted asylum would face deportation, the plan is likely to trigger renewed backlash from Latino groups and immigrant advocates, who have long accused the administration of overly harsh detention policies even as Republicans deride President Obama as soft on border security.

One might wonder why they didn't just turn these people around before they got into the system in the first place, but that would not be in keeping with our values or "who we are" as a people." So we feed, house, and clothe these illegal families as they wait for an immigration judge to determine their fate.

But that process will take years, so activists and open borders advocates sued to allow illegals being sheltered to go their merry way, fade into the population and disappear without a trace.

Immigration expert Mark Kirkorian is dubious:

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. “What share is this going to be?. . . It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the number they’ve admitted into the country. If you have photogenic raids on a few dozen illegal families and that’s the end of it, it’s just for show. It’s just a [public relations] thing, enforcement theater.”

No doubt the administration is looking to ease pressure on them to do something to prevent the next surge of Central American illegals. So when the surge happens, they can point to the raids and piously proclaim that they've done everything possible to prevent it.

And the hypocrisy continues.