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发帖数: 29846 | 1 At a Capitol Hill press conference last Thursday, leaders from the two
unions representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and
Border Patrol agents denounced the Obama Administration's immigration policy
. Flanked by Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and
David Vitter (R-LA), these two union leaders painted a stark picture of the
state of immigration enforcement across the United States.
ICE union leader Chris Crane, who represents over 7,000 agents, decried the
Obama Administration's policy of "prosecutorial discretion," which directs
enforcement agents to release illegal aliens who do not meet the
Administration's enforcement priorities.
Calling it "a failing policy," Crane described how the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) had launched it without any planning or foresight. "
Every manager in the field is interpreting these new policies different,"
Crane said. "It's impossible to even get a picture of what our priorities
are now. I have never seen or heard of the type of fly by the seat of your
pants, disorganized confusion in a law enforcement organization like what we
are currently experiencing at ICE." (CQ Transcript, July 26, 2012)
Mr. Crane also sharply criticized the President's new policy that grants "
deferred action" to illegal aliens who meet the eligibility criteria for the
DREAM Act. In particular, he warned of wide-spread abuse of the process.
"Prosecutorial discretion for DREAMers," Crane said, "is solely based on the
individual's claims. Our orders are: if an alien says they went to high
school, then let them go; if they say they have a GED, then let them go.
Officers have been told that there is no burden for the alien to prove
anything. .... At this point, we do not understand why DHS has any criteria
at all, as there is no requirement or burden to prove anything on the part
of the alien.
We believe a significant number of people who are not DREAMers are taking
advantage of this practice to avoid arrest." (Id.)
Meanwhile Border Patrol Council President George McCubbin criticized the
attempt by DHS to portray the drop in illegal alien arrest rates as a sign
of success. The drop in arrest rates, McCubbin said, had more to do with
the Administration's change in enforcement tactics than its success at
combating illegal immigration.
He noted as examples, DHS's termination of immigration checks at
transportation hubs near the border and its recent decision to close nine
border patrol stations. "Apprehensions at just one of our stations have
fallen from over 600 annually to just under 30 even though now they have 10
times the number of agents assigned to that one station." In short,
McCubbin said, "Our agency has made it impossible for the agents to go out
there and do their jobs." (Id.)
Like Crane, McCubbin also had strong words regarding President Obama's
policy of "prosecutorial discretion." "The action taken by President Obama
undermines immigration enforcement.
Fraud will run rampant and our agents will have to err on the side of
caution to grant prosecutorial discretion so that they don't put themselves
into a position where they may find themselves involved in a civil lawsuit.
... The agents we represent are not happy regarding this. We feel as if we
are political victims." (Id.) |
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