June 20, 2013 - 2:24 PM
By Craig Bannister
cnsnews.com

The Senate immigration bill S. 744 "places unprecedented new restrictions" on border enforcement, which a reported amendment does nothing to fix, the national union representing ICE officers warns in a letter.

In a letter letter to Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), the senators reported by the National Journal to be crafting the amendment, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council President Chris Crane writes:

"According to the National Journal, you are working on an amendment with members of the Gang of Eight to "help pass a bill." I am concerned that your amendment as outlined in that article not only provides immediate legalization before enforcement, but also appears to completely neglect interior enforcement."

Crane warns that the bill would grant legal status to a wide range of unsavory characters, such as convicted criminals and sex offenders:

"S. 744 drastically reduces the ability of ICE officers to do their jobs while providing legal status to convicted criminals including gang members, drunk drivers, and sex offenders. I can assure you these are not the types of "reforms" sought by the American public, in fact these are not reforms at all, but instead provisions written by special interest groups concerned only with their own political agendas and future financial gains."

The bill would also place "unprecedented new restrictions on interior enforcement" and "handcuff law enforcement officers," the letter says:

"[I]nstead of cracking down on the Administration's abuse of power, S. 744 places unprecedented new restrictions on interior enforcement-making the current situation much worse and much more hazardous. It is as if S. 744 were explicitly written to handcuff law enforcement officers-binding their hands while giving virtually unchecked authority to executive branch officials to prevent future removals, including removals of criminal aliens."

http://cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannis...-sex-offenders