Thread: DHS Secretary Kelly says catch-and-release is 'ended.' ICE agents say nothing changed

DHS Secretary Kelly says catch-and-release is 'ended.' ICE agents at the border say nothing has changed.

10:51 a.m. ET

David McNew/Getty Images

"We have ended dangerous catch-and-release enforcement policies," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in April. He was referring to a procedure in which illegal immigrants are caught by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and then, if determined not to pose any serious security risk, released to live freely in the United States while waiting for their court date, a delay that can take months or years. Many of those released are women and children, for whom there are legal limits on length of detention.

ICE agents interviewed in a new report from Reuters contradict Kelly's account. A Texan ICE field office director named Daniel Bible said his team "look[s] at each case the same way we always have" because he has not received new guidelines since Trump took office. Reuters confirmed with a DHS representative that no new instructions pertaining to catch-and-release have been issued.

President Trump described catch-and-release on the campaign trail as "the release of dangerous, dangerous, dangerous criminals from detention" and pledged to end the practice. "Under my administration, anyone who illegally crosses the border will be detained until they are removed out of our country and back to the country from which they came," he said. "And they'll be brought great distances. We're not dropping them right across [the border]." Bonnie Kristian

http://theweek.com/speedreads/703692...othing-changed

Reutersconfirmed with a DHS representative that no new instructions pertaining to catch-and-release have been issued.

What the heck??????

Why would they need "new instructions"? Enforce the law. Comply with the EO issued by the President.

Originally Posted by Judy

Why would they need "new instructions"? Enforce the law. Comply with the EO issued by the President.

Perhaps Secretary Kelly likes to do things his own way and is dragging his feet, or worse, actually refusing to fully follow Trump's orders. The responsibility for desseminating and enforcing Trump's executive order and our immigration laws rest on Secretary Kelly's shoulders. Food for thought.

I'm sure he is. Not sure I believe the ICE agent who made this statement. He may have a "bad hombre" in his sector.

Trump Quietly Continues Obama’s ‘Catch and Release’ at Border
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by BRANDON DARBY 31 May 2017 612

President Donald J. Trump is allowing former President Barack Obama’s “catch and release” of illegal immigrants to continue deep into his administration’s term with no end in sight to the controversial open borders protocol. Border Patrol agents are once again sounding the alarm and alerting the public about the separation between DC’s rhetoric and the realities on the U.S.-Mexico border — a practice that the agents hoped would become unnecessary under the Trump Administration.

Though Trump’s interior enforcement of U.S. immigration laws has resulted in far fewer illegal crossings at the border, agents say that low numbers will not be sustained because the Trump Administration has not actually made substantial changes within border security as a whole.

Border Patrol Agent Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), spoke with Breitbart Texas on Trump’s quiet continuation of Obama’s catch and release. He stated, “Obama’s catch and release is definitely continuing and our government is releasing illegal aliens into U.S. communities. The steps taken for such releases have slightly changed and the numbers are not as high, but it is still occurring. Under Trump, ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is holding more illegal aliens than what they did under Obama, but make no mistake, ICE is still releasing a good number of illegal aliens into U.S. communities. Americans need to know this.”

Though Trump ordered catch-and-release to end and despite claims from the Justice Department that the protocol is now over, the data show that it simply has not ended. One news site touted the program as over yet further reading in the same article shows it was simply reduced a bit.

Border Patrol Agent Judd cautioned against media spin on the issue. He stated, “Again, Americans need to know the facts here. They need to know that a decrease in the numbers of illegal aliens released does not mean the program is over.

Outlets or leaders making such claims only serve to reduce the accurate information that Americans need to make decisions.”

Agent Judd continued, “Illegal aliens are being released into U.S. communities just as they were under President Obama.”

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/...elease-border/

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.

(Disclosure: Breitbart Texas sponsored the Green Line podcast for the NBPC in an effort to provide a platform for agents to inform the public about the realities on the border and what Border Patrol agents face. Director Brandon Darby received an award from the Laredo chapter of the NBPC for his work in helping to defend and bring a voice to Border Patrol agents. Breitbart News assisted in covering funeral costs for a slain Border Patrol agent previously.)

If this is true, it needs to be fixed as soon as possible. What ICE or Border Patrol Agent doesn't know about the President's Executive Order? These are actions by ICE and Border Patrol Agents. They don't need further instructions, they know about the Executive Order, the whole country knows, it's their job to enforce it and detain those they catch and arrest. If Immigration Judges later release them, then this is an issue with DOJ and a problem AG Sessions needs to work on. There may be issues with the number of Judges and Detention Centers for the non-criminal illegal aliens.

Originally Posted by Judy

If this is true, it needs to be fixed as soon as possible. What ICE or Border Patrol Agent doesn't know about the President's Executive Order? These are actions by ICE and Border Patrol Agents. They don't need further instructions, they know about the Executive Order, the whole country knows, it's their job to enforce it and detain those they catch and arrest. If Immigration Judges later release them, then this is an issue with DOJ and a problem AG Sessions needs to work on. There may be issues with the number of Judges and Detention Centers for the non-criminal illegal aliens.

The key here is Secretary Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security. It's his duty to promulgate, or communicate if you will, the marching orders to ICE agents and BP agents.

Oh yes, not only him but the whole chain of command. My point is, we know ICE and BP have drug cartel infiltrators. We know both have opposition agents. So, it doesn't take but a few not to follow the rules of the President and then blame it on "no one sent me a memo". Well, you don't need a memo to do your job and comply with the President's Executive Order. That's why they have them, it's an Executive Order direct to all employees of the federal government.