Thread: GOP senator presses DHS on its practice of transporting young illegals to their illeg

GOP senator presses DHS on its practice of transporting young illegals to their illegal parents in US

11:42 AM 01/15/2014



Caroline May
Political Reporter

After court documents revealed that the Department of Homeland Security has been ferrying illegal alien children detained at the border to their illegal alien parents living in the United States, Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter is looking for answers.

“I am shocked to learn that the federal government is a participant in an international human smuggling conspiracy,” Vitter wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson Wednesday. “I cannot imagine a case in which such a policy would be in accordance with the established mission of the Department, particularly since this encourages additional smuggling and sometimes extreme abuse of the smuggled children involved.”

Last month, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas Andrew Hanen chided DHS for helping to helping to deliver an illegal immigrant child, detained at the border with her human smuggler, to her illegal immigrant mother living in Virginia. The mother had agreed to pay $8,500 to have human smugglers bring the child to her from El Salvador.

“Despite this setback [the child's detention at the border], the goal of the conspiracy was completed thanks to the actions of the United States Government,” Hanen wrote. “This Court is quite concerned with the apparent policy of the Department of Homeland Security (hereinafter ‘DHS’) of completing the criminal mission of individuals who are violating the border security of the United States.”

Hanen further noted that this was “the fourth case with the same factual situation this court has had in as many weeks.”

The president of the union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and staff, Chris Crane, later told The Daily Caller that this happens “every day.”

According to Vitter, this practice not only increases the number of illegal border crossings, by specifically children (Texas portions of the border from FY2010 to FY2012 saw an 82 percent increase in the number of apprehensions of undocumented children), but it is also dangerous for the children who are at the mercy of human smugglers and hurts Customs and Border Patrol morale.
Vitter pressed the department to lay out more details about this practice — specifically how long it has been going on, what agency carries it out, how often it occurs, what statutes allows it and who initially authorized it.

Vitter also wants information about how DHS’s completion of smugglers missions does not violate a United Nations protocol ratified by the United States requiring the country to criminalize human smuggling.

The Louisiana senator further requested information specific to the case Hanen detailed, notably about the possible repercussions for those involved.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/15/se...oung-illegals/

Published January 15, 2014
FoxNews.com



The Obama administration’s alleged practice of transporting smuggled children to their illegal immigrant parents in the U.S. has caught the attention of Congress, with a Republican senator likening the practice to the “disastrous” Operation Fast and Furious.

In a letter obtained by FoxNews.com, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., asked newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson a string of questions about the apparent policy. The practice came to light last month after a federal judge in Texas claimed immigration agents were intercepting human smugglers transporting children at the U.S.-Mexico border -- and then delivering those children to illegal immigrant parents in the U.S.

“I am shocked to learn that the federal government is a participant in an international human smuggling conspiracy,” Vitter wrote. “I cannot imagine a case in which such a policy would be in accordance with the established mission of the Department, particularly since this encourages additional smuggling and the sometimes extreme abuse of the smuggled children involved.”

In a court order last month, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen voiced concern about the unintended consequences of such a practice. Vitter echoed those concerns in his letter.

Further, the senator raised the specter of Operation Fast and Furious, where federal agents allowed guns to be illegally trafficked, only to watch those guns show up at numerous crime scenes – including that of the murder of a U.S. border agent.

“I am particularly surprised that a federal agency would assist an international criminal conspiracy after the disastrous Operation Fast & Furious directly resulted in the heinous murder of CBP Agent Brian Terry in December 2010,” Vitter wrote.

Like Hanen, he noted that those being smuggled across the border face abuse and dangerous conditions, and said “easing the ability of immigrants to illegally enter and remain in the United States only encourages greater numbers of illegal border crossings.”

He asked how long the practice has been in place, how many times this has happened, and what statute authorizes it.

The situation is likely more complicated and involves more agencies than the judge’s order made it sound. While Hanen focused on the Department of Homeland Security, officials say minors are typically handed over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Thousands of illegal immigrant children and teens are caught trying to enter the United States, and often sent to federally-run care centers while their status is determined.

The question is whether the Obama administration is engaging in a risky practice by delivering some children to their parents. Critics argue that the practice would only encourage more parents to have their children smuggled over the border, through operations often connected to the drug cartels.

Administration officials defended their actions last month.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a December statement that it was following the law, and that its officers are committed to the "safe, fair and humane treatment" of minors.”

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement also defended the role of federal agents.

“While the court’s comments did not relate specifically to ICE, it is clear that the transportation of unaccompanied children (UAC) by ICE personnel is appropriate and legal,” acting Director John Sandweg wrote in a brief email to staff, obtained by FoxNews.com.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...ns-to-furious/

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