Thread: Will anyone arrest Jose Antonio Vargas at the Senate?

Friday, Feb 8, 2013 02:49 PM PST

Mark Krikorian: Will anyone arrest Jose Antonio Vargas at the Senate?

Vargas, an undocumented immigrant, is set to testify at next week's Senate hearing on immigration reform

By Jillian Rayfield

Mark Krikorian, the National Review’s resident anti-immigrant activist and the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, wondered on Friday if anyone will arrest journalist and undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas when he goes to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week:

http://www.salon.com/2013/02/08/mark_krikorian_will_anyone_arrest_jose_antonio_var gas_at_the_senate/

Illegal Immigrant to Testify in Senate Next Week--With ICE Agent Who Cannot Arrest Him

by Breitbart News 8 Feb 2013, 1:12 PM PDT



Breitbart News has learned that one of the witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on immigration next week will be outspoken illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas--who will be seated at the same table as Chris Crane, leader of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement employees’ union that is suing the government over Obama administration rules that make it very difficult for ICE agents to arrest illegal immigrants.

Vargas, who works as a journalist, arrived in the U.S. from the Philippines at the age of 12, but is not eligible for the administration’s new guidelines because of his age. He will be speaking for his advocacy organization, Define American. Other witnesses include Janet Murguía, president of the National Council of La Raza (“The Race”); high-tech pioneer Steve Case; and Jessica Vaughn of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will also be speaking before the committee. She is named as a defendant in the suit that Crane’s union has brought. Last year, ICE agents questioned Vargas, following his arrest by the Minnesota State Patrol, when he presented officers with an invalid driver’s license. Ultimately, no charges were filed against Vargas, despite his status and apparent violations.

Last year, President Barack Obama introduced new guidelines to stay the deportation of “Dreamers,” those brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The president’s action circumvented Congress, which had refused to pass the “Dream Act” to grant legal status to those who completed high school or committed to military service. ICE agents have since been frustrated with what they allege are reduced enforcement powers.

Exclusive: Illegal Immigrant to Testify in Senate Next Week--With ICE Agent Who Cannot Arrest Him

February 8, 2013 | 5:36 pm
Joel Gehrke
Washington Examiner



Congress will hear from an illegal immigrant activist and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent prohibited from arresting him. The agent testified last week that officers routinely face disciplinary action for making arrests because “ICE’s mission now is to identify aliens and release them,” according to ICE supervisors.

“As a general rule, if ICE agents or officers are on duty in a public place and witness a violation of an immigration law, they are prohibited from making arrests and from asking questions under threat of disciplinary action,” ICE union head Chris Crane told the House Judiciary Committee, before listing several examples.

In one instance, three ICE agents arrested a man after he admitted in immigration court that he was in the country illegally.

“While the ICE director order the immigration violator be set free, the Director also ordered that all three ICE agents be placed under investigation for no other reason than arresting an illegal alien,” Crane testified.

The no catch, only release policy even applies to violent individuals, such as an illegal immigrant whom ICE agents arrested after he was charged with assaulting a family member.

“When ICE agents attempted to transport the 245 lbs subject he resisted and attempted escape, injuring one agent before being taken back into custody,” Crane said in his prepared testimony. “When agents returned to their office in El Paso they were ordered by ICE managers to release the alien as a ‘Dreamer.’ ICE managers did not question the individual and conducted no investigation to ensure that charges for assaulting an officer were not warranted. Instead, ICE managers ordered that the illegal alien immediately be released without investigation in accordance with the President’s new immigration policies, reportedly stating to employees that ‘ICE’s mission now is to identify aliens and release them.’”

During his testimony, Crane also claimed that Obama cares more about the political costs of enforcing immigration laws than the well-being of ICE agents.

“Death or serious injury to ICE officers and agents appears more acceptable to ICE, DHS, and Administration leadership, than the public complaints that would be lodged by special interest groups representing illegal aliens,” he told the House panel.

The ICE union members agreed in 2010 that they have “no confidence” in the ability of the people Obama has appointed to run the agency.

ICE agent:

Added last article above to the Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/content/ice-age...-them%92-1366/