Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    desktop
    Posts
    1,760

    ICE releasing illegal aliens on nationwide basis

    http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0704/070204p1.htm

    DAILY BRIEFING
    July 2, 2004

    ICE releasing illegal aliens on nationwide basis
    By Jason Peckenpaugh
    jpeckenpaugh@govexec.com

    The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is releasing certain illegal aliens from federal custody across the country because it lacks the funds to detain them, according to documents obtained by Government Executive.

    The releases are designed to cut the number of illegal aliens in ICE's detention system, which is budgeted to hold 19,444 detainees, but has housed thousands more for most of the fiscal year. "Currently we are exceeding the level our resources can support nationwide," wrote Victor Cerda, ICE's acting director of detention and removals, in a June 10 memorandum to regional detention officials.

    To ease the strain on the system, Cerda told ICE managers to lower the number of aliens coming into the detention system, while releasing others now being held in federal and local jails. "Discretion and financial constraints shall be considered when deciding whether to accept nonmandatory aliens for detention," he wrote.

    Because certain illegal aliens must be detained by law - including those charged with aggravated felonies - Cerda's directive affects how ICE treats aliens charged with lesser offenses, such as simple assault. These aliens are detained at ICE's discretion; generally, about 15 percent of all aliens in the detention system are "nonmandatory" detainees, according to Anthony Tangeman, a former director of detention and removals at ICE.

    In ICE's New Orleans district, which encompasses Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi, officials are releasing aliens that are not required to be held by law. Aliens are let go with orders to appear at deportation hearings.

    Illegal aliens are being released in other regions as well. In ICE's Philadelphia district, which includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware, officials released 77 aliens last week, according to Thomas Hogan, warden at Pennsylvania's York County Prison, which houses several ICE detainees.

    Nationwide, the number of ICE detainees is dropping. On June 25, ICE had 21,610 illegal aliens in its detention system, down from nearly 23,000 on June 14, according to Russ Knocke, an ICE spokesman. Knocke said ICE may not trim its detainee population to the 19,444 level. "It might not necessarily mean getting down to that hard number," he said. "It might mean we find other ways to manage within budget."

    Homeland Security Department officials describe Cerda's directive as a sensible approach to help ICE stay within its budget limits. "This is routine management," said one official. Knocke said ICE still is detaining aliens that pose a threat to the community, and added that some of those let go are being monitored by electronic ankle bracelets and other alternatives to detention.

    But the releases have raised eyebrows in Congress, and angered some agents. "It's sad because the people affected are in the local immigrant community," said an ICE agent in the New Orleans district. Jim Turner, D-Texas, ranking member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, mentioned the releases in a June 25 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

    ICE has dealt with an overflowing detention system before - the agency ended fiscal 2003 holding more aliens than it was budgeted for, but officials diverted funds from other programs to pay for the excess. By shelving other projects, ICE freed up enough funds to avoid any releases last year, said David Venturella, a former ICE detention official.

    The demand for detention space is up because of a surge in immigration related arrests, the result of programs such as the Arizona Border Control Initiative, a $10 million federal effort to crack down on alien smuggling along the Arizona-Mexico border. But as ICE and the Border Patrol have stepped up enforcement, they have put more aliens into a detention system that has had a static budget for two years. "There's a lot of pressure on the [detention] program from apprehending agencies to detain people," said former ICE official Tangeman.

    Venturella said the Border Patrol and ICE's Office of Investigations need to prioritize arrests to stem the flow of new aliens into the system. "They control the intake, Detention and Removals does not," he said.

    In a June 24 memorandum, Marcy Forman, acting director of ICE investigations, told ICE special-agents-in-charge to contact detention officials "during the earliest possible stage of planning for an operation," to let them know how much detention space they will need.

    But Venturella said this guidance was inadequate. "When a [special-agent-in-charge] reads this, they say 'I guess I can still do operations, all I need to do is let [Detention] know,' " he said. "You should not initiate any new operation unless there are detention resources in place to support it."

    Some ICE agents said they are curtailing enforcement. "We're laying off a lot of our lower-level jail cases," said the ICE agent in the New Orleans district. But Knocke denied any let-up in ICE investigations. "We continue to aggressively and proactively enforce immigration laws," he said.

    On Wednesday, ICE agents arrested 14 criminal aliens in Graham and Burlington, N.C., who are eligible for deportation because of previous criminal convictions, according to an ICE news release.

    Other officials said ICE is still arresting the same number of illegal aliens, but is increasing the use of bonds and other detention alternatives to ensure that aliens that are not detained will still show up at their immigration court hearings.
    "This country has lost control of its borders. And no country can sustain that kind of position." .... Ronald Reagan

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    southern California
    Posts
    25
    Another layer of bureaucracy created by George W. Bush to do nothing, exactly what he wants, no real enforcement of immigration laws. He is making fools out of all of us, and we're paying a high price. The cruel joke is on America.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    2,032
    I find it interesting that so many of these articles repeat the phrase "We must do something NOW"...what exactly do you think they might have in mind?

    We fund INS...and they do nothing because 'orders from on high' tell them to 'stand down'.

    We fund ICE...but there's no room for the detainees. I suppose there are no county or city jails that might be temporary places? Should we dig holes in the ground and just drop the detainees in and pull the rope up?

    Should we personally and physically stand guard at our border 24/7 in order to learn what's going on in these desert regions?

    Shall we get sticks and clubs and go among the gangs that have collected in the 1,000's in our 'sanctuary cities'? HMMM??? What do we have a police force for? Where did this 'sanctuary policy' spring from? I know Rudy Guliani went to a great deal of trouble to keep it in New York..but little else. Who would benefit from a sanctuary city other than criminals and their cohorts?

    Shall we write more letters, send more faxes, make more phone calls? Do you think that our representatives are unaware of our rage?

    Should we find a place to begin and start lawsuits all over the place? It worked for the environmentalists, why couldn't it work for nationalists?

    The MSM has really let us down in reporting the actual events and activities of the illegal criminals in this nation. I suppose that's what happens when a people lose their free press. Only this week I've talked to some acquaintances in Arkansas...they didn't know that we're fighting a war! I wonder if their news sources do as ours do here...report a bunch of guff about some 'celebrity' or some sporting event. Nothing of any content. I had only recently heard of the FTAA and CAFTA...nothing on the news about it. Guess that watchdog is dead.

    So, back to what we might do. We can flee the country! Or. We can tear down the hallowed halls of congress, one representative at a time..until we have made an impression on those blind and deaf persons who through deceit and malfeasance of office continue to mis-represent us.

    Just a thought.

    RR
    The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. " - Lloyd Jones

  4. #4
    Senior Member dman1200's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    3,631
    ICE is worthless. Another one of Bush's fine creations.

    We pay taxes to pad the wallets of corporate fat cats. The best government big business can buy.
    Please support our fight against illegal immigration by joining ALIPAC's email alerts here https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •