Thread: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SWEEP NABS 2,179

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/disp/st ... 70865.html


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

Wish they would come here to my apartments!!

It is probably making the rounds in the Hispanic news stations, as with the last few police visits (yep, it is pretty common to have them just pull in here, unannounced for whatever reason) people have gone scurrying around and then things are oddly quiet for the night, kinda fun!!!

Plus I know they have to be getting worried, as they have all been pretty jerky to us, more than usual lately, I supposed they might be wanting us to go so they can feel a little more isolated, they are not feeling that way with us here, and other Americans coming in and out of here.

Round em up, yeehaaa!!!! As per the article these are the worst of the worst criminals illegally in our country. Yes they are right it does stand out as they usually do not do anything. Keep at it guys!!!! Put the fear into them that they actually could get caught. I have attached an article in the Boston Globe about the 150 of these 2,179 that were caught. One of these was working at Budget Car Rental at Logan Airport and is a know member of MS-13. That is great that Budget hires illegals and they are working on airport property. This article was posted on a prior thread by Brian, sorry guys

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massac ... _ne_raids/

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff | June 15, 2006

Immigration officials yesterday announced the arrests of 150 undocumented immigrants from the New England area, half of them for reentering the country illegally after being deported.

Several of those arrested had criminal histories. One man, a Salvadoran who immigration officials say was part of the MS-13 gang, was arrested at his job at a Budget Rental Car office at Logan Airport after he failed to appear at a deportation hearing, officials said .

The arrests were part of a week-long effort called ``Operation Return to Sender," which netted 2,179 fugitive immigrants across the country. Nationally, half the people arrested had criminal records, some for minor offenses, others for more serious crimes. About 367 of those arrested were associated with gangs, officials said, and about 640 had not complied with previous deportation orders.

Some of those arrested will be prosecuted here and could face jail time. Others face deportation to their home countries.

The arrests come as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security, is being accused by advocates of stricter immigration control of failing to crack down on immigrants who are in the country illegally. The arrests are part of a more vigorous enforcement policy announced in April by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as Washington lawmakers were locked in battle over proposals for comprehensive immigration reform.

Last year, the New England office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested about 1,000 men and women for immigration violations. In a statement, Bruce Chadbourne , New England Field Office director for the department's detention and removal division, said his department would ``greatly exceed" that number this year.

Those arrested in the region were primarily picked up in Boston, the Framingham area, and the north and south shores. They came from Brazil, Colombia , Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Thailand, and several other countries.

And as I have said before until the jackass demonseed in the Oval Office secures the border all this will be in vain. I wouldn't be surprised if not all, but most are already back in the country committing additional crimes; this time more serious ones as murder. I applied for a part time position at Enterprise Rent a Car but never heard back from them so I guess they are only interested in employing illegal alien MS-13 gang members and criminals.