Thread: New detention reforms make sense S.D.U.T. EDITORIAL

San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial

By the ankle

New detention reforms make sense

October 17, 2009

Immigration reform doesn't just mean protecting the borders and providing illegal immigrants with a path to earned legalization. It also means improving the current system for how we detain those illegal immigrants who have been apprehended and might be on their way to being deported.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more than 350,000 immigrants are detained each year in this country.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently announced a package of reforms aimed at making detention centers around the country safer and more efficient while finding other ways, such as ankle bracelets, to keep track of non-violent offenders awaiting court dates. Napolitano also wants to separate immigrants with criminal records from those who are simply seeking asylum.

This all seems like good common sense. But we learned long ago that is a commodity often missing in the world of immigration enforcement. That is all the more reason that we should welcome such innovations whenever they're proposed, and encourage those officials who propose them.

The idea of tracking the whereabouts of non-violent offenders with ankle bracelets is particularly intriguing. First, it would surely save taxpayers a bundle of money since using bracelets is, according to Napolitano, about one-tenth as costly as incarceration. But, more than that, by making the system less intrusive in people's lives while they await an immigration hearing, we increase the chances that people will be willing to cooperate and not attempt to flee. Besides, for many years, the government hasn't bothered to fully enforce its detention laws, and this could make it easier to do so.

Napolitano is onto something here. We can't just be tough on immigration enforcement. We also have to be smart about it. Reforming the detention system is a step in that direction.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... ?uniontrib

The best and cheapest solution is to enforce immigration laws. Border security, a fence, and deportation are the only solutions to America's hemorrhaging job market and evaporating sovereignty.

I see this as a "Trojan Horse". They are going to use this until Amnesty has been achieved...then fling open the detention centers.

The fact they are not legally in the U.S.... gives our government the right to deport them immediately.

by making the system less intrusive in people's lives while they await an immigration hearing,

What about our lives?

Originally Posted by Rai7965

. . . The fact they are not legally in the U.S.... gives our government the right to deport them immediately.

If only it were that simple.

Actually federal law says that every one of them that request an immigration hearing in court must have a hearing. Only an immigration judge can determine if they must be deported.

I believe the second offense, which includes a high number, should and can result in immediate deportation.

Originally Posted by Rai7965

I believe the second offense, which includes a high number, should and can result in immediate deportation.

The "second offense" is called "Illegal Re-entry" and is a felony

which can, and often does, result in a trial and prison time, and then deportation.

Mexican national sentenced to 14 years for illegal reentry
...Jan 23, 2007 ... Mexican national sentenced to 14 years for illegal reentry, ... It is a felony to re-enter the United States after having been deported. ...
www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articl ... gfield.htm

Immigration Criminal Apprehension Taskforce processes 123 illegal
...Feb 8, 2008 ... Jose Armando Garcia-Bueno, 33, of Mexico, who was charged with one count of illegal re-entry as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony. ...
www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articl ... tsmith.htm

ICE makes federal prosecution of prior deportees a top enforcement
...Jun 11, 2008 ... of 3831 illegal aliens for felony re-entry after deportation, ... criminal prosecution based on his illegal re-entry into the country. ...
www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articl ... ntonio.htm

Illegal alien sentenced for illegal re-entry into the U.S.
Sep 24, 2009 ... Illegal alien sentenced for illegal re-entry into the U.S. ... prosecution of egregious recidivist criminal aliens for felony violations. ...
www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0909/090924atlanta.htm

Illegal alien sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison ...
That aggravated felony conviction served as the basis for a sentence enhancement for his illegal re-entry offense and was an element of his felon in ...
www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0910/091001neworleans.htm

Two Mexican nationals plead guilty to illegally re-entering the ...Nov 19, 2008 ... Two illegal aliens who resided in Palm Beach County pleaded guilty on ... The heightened emphasis on felony immigration cases reflects a ... The maximum penalty for re-entry after deportation is 20 years in prison. ...
www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0811/081119westpalmbeach.htm

ICE makes federal prosecution of prior deportees a top enforcement
...Jun 11, 2008 ... prosecution of 3831 illegal aliens for felony re-entry after deportation, compared to 1808 such prosecutions in all of fiscal year 2007. ...
www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articl ... elpaso.htm

Largest-ever ICE operation targeting criminal aliens and illegal ...Oct 3, 2007 ... Largest-ever ICE operation targeting criminal aliens and illegal alien ... Attorney's Office for re-entry after deportation, a felony that ...
www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articl ... ngeles.htm

ICE arrests more than 1700 during largest ever nationwide gang surgeOct 1, 2008 ... Pillado also has a prior felony conviction for forgery. ICE is seeking prosecution for illegal re-entry into the United States, a felony ...
www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0810/081001phoenix.htm

Illegal alien convicted and sentenced for making false statements ...Mar 18, 2008 ... Illegal alien convicted and sentenced for making false statements in an application for U.S. Passport and Unlawful Re-entry ...
www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articl ... boston.htm