Thread: NYTimes-Feds Withdraw No-Jail Offer

August 23, 2008
Immigration Authorities’ No-Jail Offer Is Withdrawn
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
LOS ANGELES — Immigration authorities on Friday ended a trial offer not to jail illegal immigrants who had been ordered to leave the country if they surrendered at government offices. In the three weeks that the federal immigration agency tested the program in a handful of cities, only eight people came forward.

How, why and even whether the program flopped was debated by the agency, Immigration and Customs and Enforcement, and advocates for immigrants. The latter called the program a publicity stunt and predicted that the agency would now stage more of the raids that have forcibly removed record numbers of illegal immigrants over the last few years.

Jim Hayes, who supervises deportation for the agency, said advocacy groups had undermined the program by counseling immigrants not to take part as a protest against immigration laws.

“What the advocates state is that what we don’t like is enforcement of the law itself,â€

I predict that this program is going to be back with a year instead of just ninety days and more people are going to take it up. That is so that they can work above ground and save some money before leaving. It would be a good idea to offer them education on how to use their remittances effecively so they have somehing to go back to in their legal original home countries.