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June 14, 2006, 11:57PM
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SWEEP NABS 2,179
The operation targets criminals, fugitives; 120 in Houston among those arrested

By ROSANNA RUIZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Immigration officers arrested 2,179 criminal immigrants and fugitives during a nationwide operation touted as a response to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's call for greater interior enforcement, what some argue is a political maneuver meant to mollify critics.

Among the people arrested in "Operation Return to Sender," many are illegal immigrants with criminal convictions while others are people who defied final deportation orders.

Julie L. Myers, assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said during a news conference in Houston on Wednesday that those arrested represented "the worst of the worst."

"Clearly our communities are much safer with individuals such as these off the streets," Myers said. "We're also sending a clear message that we will no longer allow the interior of the United States to be a safe haven for illegal aliens. There's no question America's welcome does not extend to immigrants who come here to commit crimes or come here illegally."

The operation comes at a time when ICE is under increasing pressure to rid the country of illegal immigrants. The debate about immigration policy reform rages from the halls of Congress to the U.S.-Mexico border, where National Guard troops are being deployed to assist border patrol efforts.

"There's absolutely some symbolism going on," said John Keeley, spokesman for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that supports tougher immigration reforms. "In the interior of the U.S. you're seeing enforcement activity, and it's standing out because there's any of it at all."

At least 800 people arrested in the operation, which began May 26 and concluded Tuesday, already have been deported, Myers said.

There were 424 immigrants arrested in Texas, including 120 in Houston.

Keeley said the operation and Chertoff's interior enforcement efforts as a whole seem somewhat incongruent with the Bush administration's "unwillingness to enforce immigration laws."

A combination of public opinion polls, anti-illegal-immigration groups such as the Minuteman Project and dramatic rallies by immigration-rights advocates across the country have forced President Bush to address the issue. Still, Keeley said, ICE remains underfunded and understaffed.

Michael Cutler, a former New York immigration agent who has testified before an immigration subcommittee in Congress, called Wednesday's announcement nothing more than a "dog and pony show," meant to deceive the public.

"They're doing it simply because they're trying to show they have the desire and commitment to enforce the laws and legislation is pending on the issue," Cutler said.

Charles Foster, a Houston lawyer who has advised Bush on immigration, said the president recognized early on the need to overhaul the legal process to attain citizenship.

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't," he said. "If they're not enforcing the law they're subject to criticism, and if they do enforce the law it's said to be a political statement."

Foster said it should be difficult to criticize ICE for targeting criminal immigrants given the uproar about the need for greater enforcement.

"Whether it's politics or not, every agency has the survival mechanism in place to put the best foot forward," Foster said. "Once you try to do something you might as well get credit for it."

Foster agreed, however, that ICE suffers from a manpower shortage.

Myers said there are 35 fugitive teams set up in its field offices across the country, three times as many as at the start of the year. Eighteen more teams will be added if a Bush administration budget proposal gains approval, she added.

ICE estimates that there are 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. About 590,000 are fugitives, according to the agency.

rosanna.ruiz@chron.com