Thread: Chertoff Says Families Crossing Border Illegally to Be Detai

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... world_news

Chertoff Says Families Crossing Border Illegally to Be Detained
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the U.S. in May will open a detention center to house families caught illegally crossing the border, ending the practice of releasing some of those caught into the U.S.

The U.S. will speed the deportation process by stepping up pressure on the illegal aliens' home countries to accept their return, he said.

Chertoff, in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, also said he's heading up a lobbying effort to abolish an ``almost 20-year-old'' court order that slows the deportation of illegal Salvadoran aliens. The ruling was made when Salvadorans were fleeing their country during a civil war.

The Bush administration has struggled to respond to Americans' fears about illegal immigrants by proposing both tougher border security and a controversial ``guest worker'' program. Lawmakers such as Republican Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado want President George W. Bush to enforce immigration laws more strictly.

Chertoff, a former federal prosecutor, said the aim is to have a program that secures the borders as effectively as the government's effort to dismantle organized crime in the 1980s.

``Traditional organized crime is only a shadow of what it once was,'' he said. ``I am convinced that with proper planning and application and resources,'' the borders can be secured, as well.

Currently, the government usually releases families into the U.S. with notices to appear in court, and most don't show up, said Dean Boyd, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ``In the past it's been a question of bed space,'' he said.

The program also targets smugglers who bring children along with adult illegal aliens to create fake ``families'' that the border agents set free.

Senate Legislation

The Senate Judiciary Committee has been unable to bridge differences between Democrat Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who wouldn't require temporary workers to return to their home countries, and Republican John Cornyn of Texas, who would.

The panel will resume debate on the measure when it meets on March 27.

The House approved immigration legislation last year without a guest-worker program. The measure included plans to build 700 miles of 15-foot-high fencing, far more than the 50 miles of fencing the Senate committee backed.

Storms, Ports

In his speech, Chertoff laid out broad goals for his department, which has been criticized for its response to Hurricane Katrina in August and its support for a Dubai- government-owned firm, DP World, acquiring operations at six U.S. ports.

Department officials will visit the storm-ravaged Gulf region in the next few weeks to ensure the states are ready for the next hurricane season, which begins June 1, Chertoff said.

``We will be more prepared than we were last year,'' he vowed.

Chertoff said he'll visit Hong Kong to see whether cargo- screening techniques employed there can be used by the U.S.

The secretary also said that tomorrow he'll release principles that he would endorse for legislation beefing up security at chemical plants.

He said he's concerned about ``free riders,'' chemical companies that rely on the industry's overall commitment to tighter security without doing anything to better protect its own plants.



To contact the reporter on this story:
Jeff Bliss in Washington at jbliss@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 20, 2006 16:36 EST

The Bush administration has struggled to respond to Americans' fears about illegal immigrants by proposing both tougher border security and a controversial ``guest worker'' program.

Cough, cough, choke, sputter....WHAT! The only thing Bush struggles with is English grammar, syntax and tripping over his own tongue. I must write this reporter and see what he had in mind writing such a lie.

talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk

Originally Posted by DcSA

The Bush administration has struggled to respond to Americans' fears about illegal immigrants by proposing both tougher border security and a controversial ``guest worker'' program.

Cough, cough, choke, sputter....WHAT! The only thing Bush struggles with is English grammar, syntax and tripping over his own tongue.

Quote:
Chertoff Says Families Crossing Border Illegally to Be Detained
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the U.S. in May will open a detention center to house families caught illegally crossing the border, ending the practice of releasing some of those caught into the U.S.
__________________________________________________ ______
Thanks for announcing this in an open speech. Maybe Chertoff can also have it printed up in Mexican newspapers. That way, Mexicans will have ample time to enter the country illegally.
Why doesnt he just send out invitations.

That's what we can do with the FEMA trailers and beds!!!!