Thread: ALIPAC: Illegal Immigrants Face Hurdles in Trying to Leave U

Illegal Immigrants Face Hurdles in Trying to Leave U.S.

Published August 03, 2010

FoxNews.com

A group of illegal immigrants who were deported to Mexico gather near the Nogales Port of Entry in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, July 28, 2010. (AP)

Exiting the United States may become as risky for illegal immigrants as entering.

In the first 10 months of this fiscal year, more than 5,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona alone were nabbed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection -- a trend that some anti-illegal immigration groups oppose because they favor a smooth exit for illegals seeking to leave the U.S. voluntarily.

But federal officials say nabbing illegals as they leave sends a message to would-be illegal immigrants and that border agents have the discretion to let illegals who aren't wanted on other charges to go free while capturing suspected smugglers or other alien criminals.

The dispute comes after a federal judge struck down the most controversial parts of Arizona's new immigration law last week before it went into effect. The legal battle continues between the federal government and Arizona over immigration policy. But illegal immigrants have been leaving Arizona ever since the law was passed in April, and some have faced obstacles trying to return to their native countries.

"Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is charged with enforcing a variety of laws at and between our ports of entry," the agency said in a written statement sent to FoxNews.com. "As part of the concerted efforts to secure the U.S. border CBP has taken positive steps to combat, disrupt and deter the criminal elements that threaten the safety of the American people through illegal activity and violence. As part of these efforts, CBP has augmented outbound operations to target criminal violations, including the smuggling of illegal weapons and currency into Mexico."

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The agency said outbound examinations have "successfully stopped child abduction, interdicted criminals fleeing prosecution, interdicted illegal contraband such as controlled substances, precursor drugs, and arms, and uncovered myriad other violations such as stolen vehicles, trade violations and immigration violations."

More than 4.7 million in southbound currency, 12,000 rounds of ammunition and 40 stolen vehicles have been intercepted on the Arizona border this fiscal year, the agency said.

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), which is calling on the Obama administration to establish "safe departure" border checkpoints to allow illegals to leave without fear of detention or prosecution for immigration crimes, said his group wants illegal aliens suspected of other crimes to be caught but it would prefer the crimes not be committed in the first place.

"Our position is we'd rather illegal aliens be stopped before they rape and murder Americans. Whereas the Obama administration prefers to nab them after they rape or murder Americans," William Gheen, president of the group, told FoxNews.com.

"These are preventable crimes if the border was secured and immigration laws were adequately enforced," he added.

Gheen blasted the Obama administration for not enforcing immigration law against immigration activists who were arrested in a protest last month in Washington. The activists were demanding that senators pass a bill that offers children of illegal immigrants a process to become permanent citizens.

"The paradox is if you're an illegal alien in America or protester supporting Obama's comprehensive immigration reform, you can disrupt offices in D.C. and be arrested without fear of deportation," he said. "If you are an illegal alien trying to comply with federal law (by leaving America), Obama will threaten you with punishment because you're acting against his plan."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08 ... ing-leave/

Illegal immigrants leaving the U.S. can be detained at the border
by Dennis Wagner - Aug. 3, 2010 12:00 AM



NOGALES, Ariz. - Undocumented immigrants who decide to leave the United States because of increasing enforcement and decreasing job prospects now face one more obstacle: the threat of arrest and deportation by border officers inspecting outbound traffic.

When illegal immigrants are detected trying to leave the country, they are not just ushered across the line, said Bonnie Arellano, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Instead, their information is entered into a database before they are allowed to return to Mexico.


Arellano and Guadalupe Ramirez, director at the Nogales port, said the objective is not to deter illegal immigrants who want to leave America but to catch those who have criminal records or are involved in smuggling. For the past year, officials have been conducting round-the-clock screening of southbound traffic. The scrutiny is designed to catch smugglers delivering currency and firearms to Mexican cartels but also has helped identify immigrants heading south.

"The whole idea is there are going to be consequences now for people who come into the United States with the sole purpose of doing illegal activity," Ramirez said. "Our job tells us if we find somebody at a port coming or going that is in violation of our laws, we are going to document it."


Making climate unfriendly

Since April, when Gov. Jan Brewer signed Arizona's new immigration law, illegal immigrants have been leaving the state. Some are moving to other states and some are moving back to Mexico. Supporters of the law say that's the point: to make the climate in Arizona so unfriendly that illegal immigrants deport themselves.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked key provisions from taking effect, including one that compelled officers engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest to, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally.

Although immigrants with otherwise clean records sometimes get caught on their way out of the country, Ramirez said, port inspectors use discretion in deciding whether to formally remove someone. Photos and fingerprints are entered into a database before the person is returned to Mexico, or the person is officially arrested and deported. The consequences of an arrest can be harsh: Those formally deported for unauthorized presence in the United States may be barred for 10 years from seeking legal-immigration papers. In addition, a later arrest for illegal entry may be prosecuted criminally.

During the past 10 months, Arellano said, inspectors in Arizona alone detained more than 5,000 people attempting to leave the country. That number includes those caught with contraband or wanted on warrants, she said, but CBP data does not indicate how many had no violation other than their illegal presence in the United States.

Some immigrant advocates say the CBP policy deters illegal immigrants from leaving the country, even though that's supposed to be the government's goal.

"It demonstrates the inconsistency and contradictions within our laws," said Isabel Garcia, co-chair of Derechos Humanos, an immigrant-rights group in Tucson. "Instead of permitting people who want to leave, we punish them in this fashion. . . . What purpose does this serve?"

Garcia said she believes the objective is to bolster CBP arrest statistics: "It's all about the numbers."


'Safe passage' urged

Even some groups dedicated to border security and immigration controls are critical of the federal policy. William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, last week called on the government to adopt a "safe passage" program allowing undocumented immigrants to depart without negative consequences.

"We are asking the Obama administration to designate border checkpoints that illegal immigrants can use to leave the U.S. without fear," he said. "This is about the only situation we would ever advocate that our immigration laws be waived."

Until last year, the government only sporadically checked vehicles and pedestrians leaving the United States at all Mexican land ports. However, the Obama administration, in an effort to intercept weapons and cartel money, set up full-time checkpoints with barricades on southbound lanes.

Ramirez said the campaign has exceeded expectations in Arizona. Since September, inspectors have seized $4.7 million in southbound cash on the Arizona border ($7 million borderwide), and more than 12,000 rounds of ammunition on the Arizona border.

"On a weekly basis, we make multiple seizures and pick up people who have warrants for rape, child molestation and murder," Ramirez said. He said inspectors, often supported by dogs trained to detect money and firearms, study southbound travelers for body language and bags, as well as other hints of lawbreaking.

"It really comes down to the officers' intuition. How good are your officers' gut feelings?" Ramirez said. "We're looking for the needle in the haystack - the bad guys who mix in with the good guys."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... g-U.S.html

added to the homepage with new title...

Obama Tries to Keep Illegals In the US!
http://www.alipac.us/article5527.html

"The paradox is if you're an illegal alien in America or protester supporting Obama's comprehensive immigration reform, you can disrupt offices in D.C. and be arrested without fear of deportation," he said. "If you are an illegal alien trying to comply with federal law (by leaving America), Obama will threaten you with punishment because you're acting against his plan."

Emphasize. To prevent kidnappings and the like I can understand. If we were copying Mexico, by not allowing people to leave until it is determined that they have no unpaid bills, maybe. Or so we can present el Presidente' Felipe Calderon with a bill for each and every one - maybe. ObombUS' plan is important - we need to emphasize it everywhere.

IT REALLY AMAZES ME THAT SO MANY AMERICAN CITIZENS REFUSE TO SEE THIS INVASION FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS. AS FOR OBAMA, SINCE HE LOVES THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH AND WANT THEM AROUND, THEN WHY DON'T HE JUST LEAVE THE U.S. WITH THEM AS THEY EXIT THE U.S. FOR THE CESSPOOL KNOWN AS MEXICO. THESE ILLEGALS DISRESPECT THE AMERICAN FLAG, AND SOME PEOPLE ARE STILL STUPID TO WANT THEM HERE. I PREDICT THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE SOME TROUBLE IN THIS COUNTRY DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE PRESIDENT IS URGING THESE PEOPLE ON, AND WANTING THEM HERE. OBAMA NEEDS TO BE IMPEACHED IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE HE IS ONLY HARMING THE COUNTRY AND THE CITIZENS OF THE U.S.A. AND I SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH OF THIS MAN

bttt

Illegal immigrants fleeing Arizona's S.B. 1070 law face arrest at border for trying to leave

BY Meena Hartenstein
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 4:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, August 3rd 2010, 4:46 PM


(photo)Ralston/GettyA US Border Patrol officer keeps watch over the border fence that divides the US from Mexico in Nogales, Arizona.



Illegal immigrants in Arizona are trapped in a new dilemma: stay in the U.S. and risk being arrested, or leave -- and risk the same fate.

"When illegal immigrants are detected trying to leave the country, they are not just ushered across the line," reports the Arizona Republic.

Instead, if undocumented workers attempt to return to Mexico, they face being punished for their immigration status on the way out.

Regulations at the border require that individuals leaving must first have their photographs and fingerprints taken, which are stored in a database. Those found to have been living in the U.S. illegally can be arrested and deported.

That decision is left up to the sole discretion of the inspector at the border, according to Guadalupe Ramirez, a director at Arizona's Nogales port.

But he says the law is not intended to stop illegal immigrants from leaving – it was designed to snare criminals.

"The whole idea is there are going to be consequences now for people who come into the United States with the sole purpose of doing illegal activity," Ramirez told the Republic. "Our job tells us if we find somebody at a port coming or going that is in violation of our laws, we are going to document it."

The protocol at the border has outraged activists, who believe it puts illegal immigrants in an impossible position.

"Instead of permitting people who want to leave, we punish them in this fashion,â€

ALL ILLEGALS MUST BE DEPORTED NOW. OBAMA MUST LISTEN TO AMERICANS. WE HAVE TO REMOVE FROM OFFICE THE DEMOCRATS IN NOVEMBER AND IN 2012 WE HAVE TO ELECT A NEW PRESIDENT BECAUSE OBAMA SUPPORTS AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS. AMERICANS DO NOT. DEPORT ALL ILLEGALS NOW.

Be wary of blaming Obama. I am not a fan, however, GWB was as bad as Obama.

Remember Ramos and Compean.

"The protocol at the border has outraged activists, who believe it puts illegal immigrants in an impossible position."

What a shame! Too bad none of them thought about that possibility all those years they were here ILLEGALLY milking the system! They still want to assume NO RESPONSIBILITY and NO CONSEQUENCES for their actions!