Bush Administration Still Sabotaging Expedited Removal Law
September 19, 2005
Bush Administration Still Sabotaging Expedited Removal Law
By Juan Mann
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff recently announced that the DHS would "expand" expedited removal authority to cover the entire Southwest border.
What Secretary Chertoff and his public relations minions forgot to tell you: this so-called "expansion" of the summary removal provisions of Immigration Act Section 235(b) still represents just a small fraction of the authority expressly granted by Congress nine years ago.
This authority has been scandalously left dormant because of an unbroken sequence of federal government nonfeasance, uniting both the Clinton and Bush (43) administrations.
The DHS’ press release trumpeted:
"The ER [expedited removal] administrative process is aimed at reducing the number of illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico who have spent less than 14 days in the United States and who are apprehended within 100 miles of the border."
"’Expanding Expedited Removal gives Border Patrol agents the ability to break the cycle of illegal migration. The use of this authority will allow DHS the ability to gain greater control of our borders and to protect our country against the terrorist threat,’ stated Secretary Chertoff. ‘The Expedited Removal process will rapidly return illegal aliens in the United States to their country of origin while giving those seeking protection the judicial process to pursue their claim before an immigration judge.’�
Oh yeah?
I’m a big fan of expedited removal as an immigration law enforcement tool because it actually physically deports illegal aliens who have no business being in the United States.
It also keeps border-jumpers and visa over-stayers AWAY from the permanent amnesty candy store of immigration benefits that is the Immigration Court system in the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
Thousands of Border Patrol agents and Immigration Inspectors across the country are perfectly capable of determining whether or not an alien has valid immigration status in the United States.
But for about nine years now, they have been prevented from doing their jobs: to summarily remove illegal aliens to the fullest extent of the law – Immigration Act Section 235(b), that is.
The current Section 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act was passed by Congress along with amendments called the "Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996" (IIRIRA). The IIRIRA legislation was signed by President Clinton on September 30, 1996. It became effective on April 1, 1997.
The legislation allowed for the summary removal of illegal aliens found anywhere in the United Statesâ€â€
