That definition seems perfectly applicable to the actions of John Morton, the Obami who heads ICE, and his staff.
Consider this: Morton, via his staff, is circulating an internal memo for comment that calls for an ORDER directing BOTH Federal and state officials acting under ICE authority to NOT detain illegal aliens legally stopped for traffic violations.
Under item 3, "Policy"--
3.1 Only immigration officers may issue detainers [a notice that ICE intends to take someone into custody].
3.2 Immigration officers shall issue detainers only after an LEA has exercised its independent authority to arrest the alien for a criminal violation.
3.3 As a general matter, immigration officers should not issue detainers aganist an alien charged only with a traffic-related misdemeannor unless or the until the alien is convicted, unless--
- the alien has a prior criminal conviction;
- the alien previously has been...deported...or allowed to voluntarily return to his or her native country...
- the alien is the subject of an outstanding immigration warrant...
- ...is part of an existing criminal investigation;
- an articulable reason exists to believe that the alien presents a danger to national security or a genuine risk to public safety; or
- the...the misdemeanor involves driving under the influence..., physical injury to a person or property, or flight from the scene of an accident. (emphasis added)
The policy is schizophrenic on its face; EVERY traffic misdemeanor...by definition...presents a "risk to public safety". But the ICE agents get to determine if that risk is "genuine" or not. They MAY...or may NOT...issue a detainer, even after the LEA has jumped all the hoops, and after issuing a detainer THEN may simply blow the whole deal off.
Morton has already implemented a "catch and release" policy, whereby ICE catches removable aliens in jails or through local arrests, and then releases all but the most serious offenders from custody. Making matters worse, ICE agents are now defaulting to the most time-consuming deportation process – even obviously removable aliens are routinely dumped on the overloaded immigration court dockets to await hearings before an immigration judge – instead of using the perfectly legal and more efficient administrative procedures available to them to remove an illegal alien. This means that even criminal aliens can hang around for many months after they are discovered. While in proceedings they are usually free to continue their life of crime or impaired driving, as was the case with Carlos Montano, the drunk and illegal driver who recently killed a nun in Virginia. A very large share will not bother to show up for the immigration hearing when the day finally arrives. It's no wonder that the number of aliens removed this year is noticeably lower than last year.
But this policy goes farther, stipulating that ICE will not even take a look at the illegal aliens who expose themselves to law enforcement by committing a traffic violation. And, neither will those local officers who have discovered lots of illegal aliens in the course of enforcing traffic laws.
The locals are rightly upset. For one thing, Congress never intended for ICE to micromanage the 287(g) agencies in this way. One local officer had this to say about the proposed policy: "Just as many of us suspected, the introduction of Harold Hurtt [Yom Steel's boss, the embattled ex-police chief who kept Houston as a sanctuary city until several of his officers were killed by illegal aliens] as the director of OSLC is leading to policy proposals and changes that will slowly chip away from the little power we have at a local level to try and control the influx of illegal immigrants. Soon, the administration will make so many changes, they will then claim there is no longer any need for 287(g) and we will be back to where we were years ago – with no ability to identify illegal immigrants, beyond the ineffective Secure Communities, in our jails. That will, once again, place a larger burden on our local governments and place our citizens in danger."
Everyone SHOULD send their comments to ann.yom@dhs.gov. Expect to get an automated response saying she's out of the office...on vacation, we guess. No kidding.
This is one of those outrageous moves that show the Collective has revolted against the people. It should be investigated by Congress, but that will almost certainly have to wait the seating of the NEW Congress.
Posts
