Department of Homeland Security saw fewer immigrants deported in 2014, but the number of deportations still remains high, with the agency having deported nearly 600,000 immigrants from the U.S. this year.

(DHS) officials say there was a decline in the number of immigrants deported in 2014 because of the unprecedented arrival of children and families from Central America, and a push back by law enforcement under the Secure Communities program, but the agency still carried out over half a million deportations.

According to the department's statistics, released on Dec. 19, DHS conducted a total of 577,295 deportations -- comprising 414,481 removals and 162,814 returns. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had a total of 315,042 removals or returns and Customs and Border made 486,651 apprehensions.

"This year's statistics are informed by a number of complex and shifting factors, most notably the 68 percent increase in migration from countries other than Mexico, predominantly from Central America, and a 14 percent drop in Mexican migration since fiscal year 2013," said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. "The unprecedented surge of unaccompanied children and families last summer, as well as the increasing number of jurisdictions declining to honor ICE detainers, also impacted DHS enforcement operations. ... DHS ... continue(s) to ... secure our borders and protect our communities."

Johnson said migration numbers are down though compared to 2000, when Border Patrol reported 1.6 million apprehensions.

Of the number of ICE removals of 315,943 people, 213,719 were apprehended shortly after arriving in the U.S., with 102,224 removed from the interior. Eighty-five percent of the removals and returns were of people previously convicted of a criminal offense.

President Obama has been looking for ways to reduce the number of immigrants being deported and claims only around 15,000 immigrants deported in 2014 were not convicted criminals.

The decline in numbers can also be attributed in part to the controversial Secure Communities Program, which initially involved local police departments and sheriff's offices in alerting ICE if they arrested a person who was undocumented, holding the person for 48 hours without a warrant while ICE checked their fingerprints against their records.

Civil rights organizations criticized the practice, arguing it violated constitutional laws, and threatened local police departments with lawsuits. Police Departments then started to publicly announce, starting in 2011, they were not participating in the program. ICE then announced the program only required law enforcement to volunteer to assist the agency and that it was never mandatory.

More than 275 jurisdictions nationwide are now limiting or declining to cooperate with ICE detainers. In a conference call with reporters, DHS officials said a total of 10,182 requests were refused in 2014 by local and state police.