Immigration Watch International (2)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Backdoor Amnesty? White House Proposes CATCH and RELEASE for Some Illegal Immigrants

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency charged with guarding the U.S. borders, has written a secret draft policy that would let its agents catch and release low-priority illegal immigrants rather than bring them in for processing and prosecution.

The policy, which has not been signed off on, would be the latest move by the Obama administration to set new priorities for the nation's immigration services, and would bring CBP in line with other Homeland Security Department agencies that already use such "prosecutorial discretion."

The policy was detailed in an internal memo obtained by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and reviewed by The Washington Times, which confirmed the document.

According to the memo, the draft policy "provides circumstances when to pursue enforcement actions ... and includes detailed discussion of several factors CBP personnel should consider when exercising discretion."

Opponents say it amounts to another "backdoor amnesty" for illegal immigrants and could give the administration a tool to pressure Border Patrol agents not to pursue some people.

"Rather than allow Border Patrol agents to do their job, the Obama administration instead would like them to roll out the welcome mat for illegal immigrants," Mr. Smith said. "This ‘catch and release' policy undermines border security, our immigration system, and CBP's mission."

President Obama has called for a broad immigration bill that would legalize most illegal immigrants, but with action in Congress unlikely, his administration has taken steps to try to rewrite enforcement priorities and shift deportation efforts away from rank-and-file illegal immigrants and toward gang members and those with extensive criminal records.

Those favoring a crackdown say that amounts to a de facto amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, while immigrant rights groups say he is setting records for deportations and that too many illegal immigrants without extensive criminal histories are being caught.

As part of its efforts, the administration last summer announced that it would grant broad prosecutorial discretion for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), a Homeland Security agency that enforces immigration laws in the country's interior.

That policy, which lets the agency decline to prosecute or deport some illegal immigrants, has received mixed reviews. Crackdown supporters say it's too lenient, while the immigrant advocates say it's not applied fairly.

The new draft policy detailed in the memo would apply similar rules to CBP, and the chief effect could be to give Border Patrol agents discretion not to turn over illegal immigrants for prosecution.

SOURCE

Recent posts at CIS below

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2. Obama's Administrative Dream Act Myths (Blog)

3. Phony Military Frosting on the Dream Scheme Cake (Blog)

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5. Contrasts Between the IRCA Legalization and the Administration's Dream (Blog)

6. H-2B Exploiters Beat Obama Administration in Senate Committee Vote (Blog)

7. Meanwhile, at the Border . . . (Blog)

8. Who Will Pay to Process the Dream? (Blog)

9. Rubio’s Response to Obama's Amnesty (Blog)

10. The End Justifies the Means (Blog)

11. Lessons for U.S. Southern Border from Interview with Canadian Mountie (Blog)

12. DHS Wastes Money on Adult Toys (i.e., Drones), OIG Reports (Blog)

13. State Agencies Should Prepare for a War of Attrition on Enforcement Measures (Blog)

14. Let's Make a Deal: A College's Special Tuition Rates for Illegal Immigrant Students (Blog)

15. California Senate Advances Sanctuary Bill, Ignoring Lessons of Triple Murder Case (Blog)

16. Summertime, Brought to You by Eastern Europe (Blog)

17. On Whose Behalf Do Our Officials Labor? (Blog)

18. Ag Employers Cry Wolf on Immigration (Blog)

19. Voter ID – Sometimes Even Politicians Get It Right (Blog)

20. On Capitol Hill, a Strong Indictment of Administrative Amnesty Policies (Blog)

21. Beyond the Hoopla — Older Immigrants Are Economic Disasters (Blog)

22. Time for Another DREAM Act Story (Blog)

23. Irish Workers in the Big Apple: American Kids (Apparently) Need Not Apply (Blog)

24. DOJ Expands Gun Rights for Certain Nonimmigrant Aliens (Blog)

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Background

Postings from Brisbane, Australia by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) -- former member of the Australia-Soviet Friendship Society, former anarcho-capitalist and former member of the British Conservative party.

Why is "La Raza" the one Spanish term that is NEVER translated in the American mass media? Because translating it would make it a lot less respectable. It means "THE RACE" -- The mixed Hispanic "race" of Mexico. Racism is fine South of the Rio Grande only, apparently.

The "line" of this blog is that immigration should be SELECTIVE. That means that:

1). A national government should be in control of it. The U.S. and U.K. governments are not but the Australian government has shown that the government of a prosperous Western country can be. Up until its loss of office in 2007, the conservative Howard government had all but eliminated illegal immigration. The present Leftist government has however restarted the flow of illegals by repealing many of the Howard government regulations.

2). Selectivity should be based on "the content of a man's character, not on the color of his skin", as MLK said. To expand that a little: Immigrants should only be accepted if they as individuals seem likely to make a positive net contribution to the country. Many "refugees" would fail that test: Muslims and Africans particularly. Educational level should usually be a pretty fair proxy for the individual's likely value to the receiving country. There will, of course, be exceptions but it is nonetheless unlikely that a person who has not successfully completed High School will make a net positive contribution to a modern Western society.

3). Immigrants should be neither barred NOR ACCEPTED solely because they are of some particular ethnic origin. Blacks are vastly more likely to be criminal than are whites or Chinese, for instance, but some whites and some Chinese are criminal. It is the criminality that should matter, not the race.

4). The above ideas are not particularly blue-sky. They roughly describe the policies of the country where I live -- Australia. I am critical of Australian policy only insofar as the "refugee" category for admission is concerned. All governments have tended to admit as refugees many undesirables. It seems to me that more should be required of them before refugees are admitted -- for instance a higher level of education or a business background.

5). Perhaps the most amusing assertion in the immigration debate is that high-income countries like the USA and Britain NEED illegal immigrants to do low-paid menial work. "Who will pick our crops?" (etc.) is the cry. How odd it is then that Australians get all the normal services of a modern economy WITHOUT illegal immigrants! Yes: Before the pandemic, you usually COULD buy a lettuce in Australia for a dollar or thereabouts. And Australia IS a major exporter of primary products.

6). I am a libertarian conservative so I reject the "open door" policy favoured by many libertarians and many Leftists. Both those groups tend to have a love of simplistic generalizations that fail to deal with the complexity of the real world. It seems to me that if a person has the right to say whom he/she will have living with him/her in his/her own house, so a nation has the right to admit to living among them only those individuals whom they choose.

I can be reached on jonjayray@hotmail.com -- or leave a comment on any post. Abusive comments will be deleted.

Immigration Watch International (2)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

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