Thread: U.S. deportation program draws more criticism

U.S. deportation program draws more criticism

Denver Post
By Julia Preston
The New York Times
Posted: 09/16/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

As a result, immigrant communities perceived that local police were enforcing federal immigration laws, leaving a "harmful impact" on trust that discouraged communities from reporting crimes.

A task force advising an Obama administration deportation program has criticized immigration officials for creating "much confusion" with the public about its purposes and found that the program had an "unintended negative impact" on public safety in local communities.

In a report released Wednesday on the program, known as Secure Communities, the task force said immigration officials had eroded public trust with conflicting statements about which immigrants were being singled out for deportation and whether states and cities were required to participate.

In the most significant of its recommendations, the task force said fingerprint identifications through the program should no longer lead federal agents to detain immigrants arrested by local police for minor traffic violations. Secure Communities has been presented by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency operating it, as aimed at deporting "the worst of the worst" illegal immigrants, those convicted of serious criminal and immigration offenses.

Let's try again, panel urges

The task force, which includes top law enforcement officers from four major cities, urged immigration officials to start over and "reintroduce" the program in many places where local opposition had swelled.

The task force said immigration authorities should exercise far broader prosecutorial discretion to focus deportations on convicted criminals and steer away from immigrants with only civil violations. That kind of discretion is routine in police work, the group said, and "does not amount to administrative amnesty," as some Republican critics of the Obama administration have argued.

Obama administration officials have described Secure Communities as central to their efforts at curbing illegal immigration by deporting as many as 400,000 foreigners a year.

John Morton, director of ICE, named the task force in June in an effort to channel and address rising resistance from state officials, local police chiefs and immigrant organizations. But in its final hours, the group produced new dissension. Five of its 19 members resigned Wednesday rather than endorse the report's findings.

In a letter Wednesday, representatives of the AFL-CIO and two unions of the immigration agency's officers and employers said the report "demonstrates a clear absence of our voice." They did not specify the issues on which they disagreed.

Arturo Venegas, a former Sacramento, Calif., police chief and director of the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative, a police organization pressing for a federal overhaul of immigration law, said in a resignation letter that the program was "deeply flawed" and was "undermining public safety." He said the task-force advice did not go far enough to ensure that immigrants detained for minor local offenses would not be deported, and he thought the program should be suspended.

Brittney Nystrom of the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant-advocacy group, also resigned.

Dissension in the ranks remains

The 33-page report shows that divisions persisted among the remaining members, with some calling for the program's suspension and some, particularly law enforcement officers, supporting it overall.

Under Secure Communities, fingerprints collected from anyone arrested by local or state police are checked against FBI criminal databases — a routine police procedure — and also through Department of Homeland Security​ databases, which record immigration violations.

After initiating the program in 2008, ICE has extended it across about half the country, in many cases amid local outcry. But this year, three governors and a growing number of cities expressed a reluctance to join.

According to the report, there was a "strong consensus view" on the task force that it was appropriate for Secure Communities to focus on deporting "serious criminal offenders." But in four public hearings, the task force learned of many cases of immigrants stopped by police for minor traffic offenses — or in some cases for no offense at all — who were swept into deportation after being flagged by a Secure Communities check.

As a result, immigrant communities perceived that local police were enforcing federal immigration laws, leaving a "harmful impact" on trust that discouraged communities from reporting crimes.

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/c ... source=rss

The deceptive pro-amnesty PACs haven't figured out yet that Americans refuse to believe their lies.

This is the craziest, most obvious pack of lies ever perpetrated on this country. Who believes that because illegal aliens are too afraid to 'report crimes to law enforcement' that crimes will increase because of it?

Insanity!

As a result, immigrant communities perceived that local police were enforcing federal immigration laws, leaving a "harmful impact" on trust that discouraged communities from reporting crimes.

Originally Posted by HAPPY2BME

The deceptive pro-amnesty PACs haven't figured out yet that Americans refuse to believe their lies.

This is the craziest, most obvious pack of lies ever perpetrated on this country. Who believes that because illegal aliens are too afraid to 'report crimes to law enforcement' that crimes will increase because of it?

Insanity!

As a result, immigrant communities perceived that local police were enforcing federal immigration laws, leaving a "harmful impact" on trust that discouraged communities from reporting crimes.

Agreed Happy2bme! It also tells me that illegal aliens will only report crimes only if it's a benefit to them.

What these fool pro-illegal hustlers don't say is that most crimes can be reported anonymously, so one wonders what the real reason is why the "community" doesn't report crimes, hmmm?

So let's stop the insanity and deport them all!

Originally Posted by miguelina

It also tells me that illegal aliens will only report crimes only if it's a benefit to them.

What these fool pro-illegal hustlers don't say is that most crimes can be reported anonymously, so one wonders what the real reason is why the "community" doesn't report crimes, hmmm?

So let's stop the insanity and deport them all!

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http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1266694-.html#1266694

BROOKS: There is a surefire way to create jobs now for American citizens: evict all illegal aliens from America and open up millions of jobs for American citizens. That also forces blue-collar wages up, helping American families afford and pursue the American dream. Unfortunately, the White House chases a different dream — a nightmare that pits unemployed Americans against illegal aliens in a competition for scarce jobs. The DREAM Act gives amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, thereby legitimizing illegal conduct and depriving American citizens of job opportunities. ... Congress and the White House must create jobs now for American citizens. We must fight for American citizens, not illegal aliens.

The reason they do not report crimes is because Most Likely the Criminal is a Relative. Cant snitch on the Bread winner (stealer) lol.

Originally Posted by PatriotofPast

The reason they do not report crimes is because Most Likely the Criminal is a Relative. Cant snitch on the Bread winner (stealer) lol.

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Speaking of 'stealing,' 'thieves,' and 'bread winners'

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Property losses are estimated to be as high as $15,000 in this one trailer park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c3qmgGm ... r_embedded

Cry me a river and then self deport. It doesnt have to be in that order either...