ICE

Lax Immigration Policies May Have Shielded Killer of California Deputies

The man accused in Friday's horrific killing and carjacking spree near Sacramento, Calif., which resulted in the deaths of two sheriff's deputies and the wounding of two others, is a citizen of Mexico who was deported twice previously, but who apparently has been living in the United States for more than a decade.

Thanks to fingerprint sharing made possible by ICE's Secure Communities program (which DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has indicated he wants to scale back), authorities were able to quickly determine that the man arrested had given them an alias. ICE has issued a statement saying that the accused is Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte, and that he was deported in 1997 after a conviction in Arizona for possession of narcotics for sale, and again in 2001.

Unfortunately, the Secure Communities identification system seems to be the only part of our immigration system that has worked properly against this violent criminal.

According to news accounts, after he illegally re-entered the country after deportation, Monroy-Bracamonte lived and worked for years in Arizona, where he married Janelle Marquez Monroy-Bracamonte, reported to be a U.S. citizen. At some point they moved to the Salt Lake City, Utah, area, which is notably more hospitable to illegal residents. While working as a house painter and lawn mower there, Monroy-Bracamonte apparently racked up more than 10 misdemeanor traffic offenses and citations between 2003 and 2009 under an alias. In addition, he reportedly had a record of one traffic ticket and three small claims court filings for debt in his real name, also in Utah.

Had these offenses occurred in Arizona or other places where local law enforcement agencies are encouraged (and required in Arizona since 2012) to look into the identity and immigration status of lawbreakers, Monroy-Bracamonte might have come to the attention of local police and ICE a long time ago. But Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank has said such policies are "ridiculous" and "you actually increase crime when you enforce these kinds of laws." Who looks ridiculous now? Chief Burbank also has been active with a (very small) group of police chiefs lobbying against immigration enforcement and for amnesty.

Monroy-Bracamonte appears not to be your average illegal worker off on a weekend road trip with his wife. They were quite well armed for their trip to Sacramento, packing an AR-15 assault rifle and at least two pistols. Monroy-Bracamonte killed Sacramento County deputy Danny Oliver by shooting him in the forehead as he approached their car, which was parked in the lot of a Motel 6 that is notorious for criminal activity, and where they were registered as guests. They led officers on a six-hour chase, during which Monroy-Bracamonte killed detective Michael David Davis, Jr., and wounded two others before officers used tear gas to smoke him out of hiding in a house in Auburn, Calif.

Photographs reported to be of Monroy-Bracamonte suggest that he is a member of the criminal gang known as Mexican Pride and associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Mexican Pride has been on ICE's radar screen for some time. Dozens of Mexican Pride members and associates have been arrested by ICE agents over the years, and the agency's arrest records show concentrations in Arizona, southeast Washington state, Colorado, and the Washington DC/Northern Virginia metro area. Mexican Pride members often have violent criminal histories, including assault, weapons offenses, drug dealing, burglary, robbery, and more. Federal gang intelligence reports say Mexican Pride is also involved in prostitution and human trafficking. The gang's membership includes Central Americans as well as Mexicans and U.S. citizens.

Unfortunately, ICE leadership under the Obama administration has pulled back on ICE's highly effective anti-gang programs in the last few years, and American communities – and families – are now paying the price.

ICE's National Gang Unit records show that 20 percent fewer gang arrests were made in 2013 than in 2012. And more and more of the ICE gang arrests have been occurring overseas rather than within the United States.

Whereas ICE agents once could work closely with local law enforcement agencies to target deportable gang members pro-actively with surge and street operations, now policies from ICE headquarters dictate that gang members are off-limits for enforcement until they are convicted of a serious crime. The result is that foreign gang members now can more easily avoid arrest, have little fear of immigration enforcement, are more likely to obtain benefits or relief from removal, are much less likely to face deportation, and are more likely to return after deportation. Liberal ICE detention policies have led to the release of gang members arrested by ICE investigators, which can enable them to escape prosecution. ICE agents also face limitations that are stricter than most other federal and local investigators on how they may use social media; such tools might well have enabled ICE to target Monroy-Bracamonte earlier.

So far ICE has been tight-lipped with information on Luis and Janelle Monroy-Bracamonte, referring questions to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. The following questions remain to be answered:

1 - Has Luis Monroy-Bracamonte had other encounters with immigration authorities since his removal in 2001?

2 - What are the circumstances of his 2001 removal? Did it follow another arrest, and which agency made that arrest?

3 - Did Janelle Marquez Monroy-Bracamonte (or anyone else) seek to sponsor Luis for a green card? Has he received any immigration benefit or exercise of prosecutorial discretion?

4 - Law enforcement agencies should be asked to disclose Monroy-Bracamonte's entire criminal history and record of civil infractions and charges.

5 - Does Janelle Monroy-Bracamonte have a criminal history?

6 - What identification documents did Monroy-Bracamonte provide to the officers who arrested him? Did they include a legally issued driver's license that he obtained in Utah or another state? Or did he use fraudulent documents?

7 - Did any Utah law enforcement officers ever inquire or investigate his identity or immigration status? If so, was he referred to ICE?

The answers to these questions may guide lawmakers and local law enforcement agencies to adopt, or reinstate, more effective enforcement practices that prioritize public safety over protecting criminal aliens. Read more about Lax Immigration Policies May Have Shielded Killer of California Deputies

Lax Immigration Policies May Have Shielded Killer of California Deputies

The man accused in Friday's horrific killing and carjacking spree near Sacramento, Calif., which resulted in the deaths of two sheriff's deputies and the wounding of two others, is a citizen of Mexico who was deported twice previously, but who apparently has been living in the United States for more than a decade.

Thanks to fingerprint sharing made possible by ICE's Secure Communities program (which DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has indicated he wants to scale back), authorities were able to quickly determine that the man arrested had given them an alias. ICE has issued a statement saying that the accused is Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte, and that he was deported in 1997 after a conviction in Arizona for possession of narcotics for sale, and again in 2001.

Unfortunately, the Secure Communities identification system seems to be the only part of our immigration system that has worked properly against this violent criminal.

According to news accounts, after he illegally re-entered the country after deportation, Monroy-Bracamonte lived and worked for years in Arizona, where he married Janelle Marquez Monroy-Bracamonte, reported to be a U.S. citizen. At some point they moved to the Salt Lake City, Utah, area, which is notably more hospitable to illegal residents. While working as a house painter and lawn mower there, Monroy-Bracamonte apparently racked up more than 10 misdemeanor traffic offenses and citations between 2003 and 2009 under an alias. In addition, he reportedly had a record of one traffic ticket and three small claims court filings for debt in his real name, also in Utah.

Had these offenses occurred in Arizona or other places where local law enforcement agencies are encouraged (and required in Arizona since 2012) to look into the identity and immigration status of lawbreakers, Monroy-Bracamonte might have come to the attention of local police and ICE a long time ago. But Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank has said such policies are "ridiculous" and "you actually increase crime when you enforce these kinds of laws." Who looks ridiculous now? Chief Burbank also has been active with a (very small) group of police chiefs lobbying against immigration enforcement and for amnesty.

Monroy-Bracamonte appears not to be your average illegal worker off on a weekend road trip with his wife. They were quite well armed for their trip to Sacramento, packing an AR-15 assault rifle and at least two pistols. Monroy-Bracamonte killed Sacramento County deputy Danny Oliver by shooting him in the forehead as he approached their car, which was parked in the lot of a Motel 6 that is notorious for criminal activity, and where they were registered as guests. They led officers on a six-hour chase, during which Monroy-Bracamonte killed detective Michael David Davis, Jr., and wounded two others before officers used tear gas to smoke him out of hiding in a house in Auburn, Calif.

Photographs reported to be of Monroy-Bracamonte suggest that he is a member of the criminal gang known as Mexican Pride and associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Mexican Pride has been on ICE's radar screen for some time. Dozens of Mexican Pride members and associates have been arrested by ICE agents over the years, and the agency's arrest records show concentrations in Arizona, southeast Washington state, Colorado, and the Washington DC/Northern Virginia metro area. Mexican Pride members often have violent criminal histories, including assault, weapons offenses, drug dealing, burglary, robbery, and more. Federal gang intelligence reports say Mexican Pride is also involved in prostitution and human trafficking. The gang's membership includes Central Americans as well as Mexicans and U.S. citizens.

Unfortunately, ICE leadership under the Obama administration has pulled back on ICE's highly effective anti-gang programs in the last few years, and American communities – and families – are now paying the price.

ICE's National Gang Unit records show that 20 percent fewer gang arrests were made in 2013 than in 2012. And more and more of the ICE gang arrests have been occurring overseas rather than within the United States.

Whereas ICE agents once could work closely with local law enforcement agencies to target deportable gang members pro-actively with surge and street operations, now policies from ICE headquarters dictate that gang members are off-limits for enforcement until they are convicted of a serious crime. The result is that foreign gang members now can more easily avoid arrest, have little fear of immigration enforcement, are more likely to obtain benefits or relief from removal, are much less likely to face deportation, and are more likely to return after deportation. Liberal ICE detention policies have led to the release of gang members arrested by ICE investigators, which can enable them to escape prosecution. ICE agents also face limitations that are stricter than most other federal and local investigators on how they may use social media; such tools might well have enabled ICE to target Monroy-Bracamonte earlier.

So far ICE has been tight-lipped with information on Luis and Janelle Monroy-Bracamonte, referring questions to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. The following questions remain to be answered:

1 - Has Luis Monroy-Bracamonte had other encounters with immigration authorities since his removal in 2001?

2 - What are the circumstances of his 2001 removal? Did it follow another arrest, and which agency made that arrest?

3 - Did Janelle Marquez Monroy-Bracamonte (or anyone else) seek to sponsor Luis for a green card? Has he received any immigration benefit or exercise of prosecutorial discretion?

4 - Law enforcement agencies should be asked to disclose Monroy-Bracamonte's entire criminal history and record of civil infractions and charges.

5 - Does Janelle Monroy-Bracamonte have a criminal history?

6 - What identification documents did Monroy-Bracamonte provide to the officers who arrested him? Did they include a legally issued driver's license that he obtained in Utah or another state? Or did he use fraudulent documents?

7 - Did any Utah law enforcement officers ever inquire or investigate his identity or immigration status? If so, was he referred to ICE?

The answers to these questions may guide lawmakers and local law enforcement agencies to adopt, or reinstate, more effective enforcement practices that prioritize public safety over protecting criminal aliens. Read more about Lax Immigration Policies May Have Shielded Killer of California Deputies

Could we please stop the insanity?

Just when I think another illegal immigration insanity story won't surprise me, a news report like this is published.

I'll walk through this article and touch on the painful, high pitched points for those that may not "get it" at a glance.  Here goes:

Francisco Aguirre (an illegal alien), from El Salvador, took refuge Friday in a Northeast Portland church after he said federal immigration agents went to his home to detain him...

"I've been a leader in this community for so many years," Aguirre said. "I'm part of this community, and this is where I belong (no - he belongs in El Salvador). This is where I want to stay" (too bad).

Aguirre was deported to El Salvador in 2000 after a conviction for drug trafficking offenses.... (a real LEADER in this community - a drug dealer?), 

Aguirre came to the agency's attention again in August after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (again, a real swell guy) in Clackamas County, ICE said.

Aguirre said he applied earlier this year for a U Visa ... The visa provides legal status to victims of certain crimes who help authorities investigate crimes (does that include the crimes HE commits?), according the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Office.

He acknowledged that he was deported 14 years ago...(and he should be deported AGAIN after serving time in prison for re-entering the country illegally)

Aguirre was involved in the Workers' Organizing Committee that went on to found Voz Workers' Rights Education Project, nonprofit organization that mostly helps male Latino (illegal?) immigrants find work in Portland (So, he helps other illegal? immigrants find work in Portland - it's against the law for an illegal alien to work in the US). He currently serves as the MLK Jr. Worker Center coordinator for the group.

Churches elsewhere in the country have been offering sanctuary (is this the intended use of your tithe contributions?) to illegal immigrants after President Barack Obama announced that he wouldn't take any executive action on immigration legislation until after the November election.

ICE agents do not make arrests in sensitive locations such as schools and churches (how handy), said Andrew S. Muñoz, a public affairs officer for ICE.

Aguirre, a father of three, said he plans to stay at the church for as "long as it takes."

"We all make mistakes," he said. "We all have the right to fix those mistakes."

(Let's review - Aguirre entered the country illegally, trafficked drugs, was deported, re-entered the country illegally, helps illegal aliens work illegally, is arrested on suspicion of DUI and claims "we all make mistakes and have the right to fix those mistakes."  When is he going to start?  Is he fixing them now - while hiding out in a church because he won't face up to the mistakes he has made already?)

Wow - what a guy - a real pillar of the community.  Let's keep him!  Better yet - let's CROWN him King!  I'm certain he thinks he's entitled to the title! Read more about Could we please stop the insanity?

Portland activist seeks asylum in church to avoid deportation

Francisco Aguirre, a local labor activist originally from El Salvador, took refuge Friday in a Northeast Portland church...

"I've been a leader in this community for so many years," Aguirre said. "I'm part of this community, and this is where I belong. This is where I want to stay."

Aguirre was deported to El Salvador in 2000 after a conviction for drug trafficking offenses, ICE said in a statement. Aguirre came to the agency's attention again in August after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence...

He acknowledged that he was deported 14 years ago, but declined to comment further..

Aguirre was involved in the Workers' Organizing Committee that went on to found Voz Workers' Rights Education Project, nonprofit organization that mostly helps male Latino immigrants find work in Portland. He currently serves as the MLK Jr. Worker Center coordinator for the group.

Churches elsewhere in the country have been offering sanctuary to illegal immigrants...

ICE agents do not make arrests in sensitive locations...

Aguirre, a father of three, said he plans to stay at the church for as "long as it takes."

"We all make mistakes," he said. "We all have the right to fix those mistakes."

  Read more about Portland activist seeks asylum in church to avoid deportation

TSA Admits Allowing Illegal Migrants to Fly With ICE Form as ID

Contrary to previous assertions, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has admitted it has allowed individuals to board airplanes using Notice to Appear forms given to them after illegally entering the United States, the Gateway Pundit reports.

The Aug. 7 letter sent by the TSA to Texas Republican Kenny Marchant, a member of the Border Security Caucus, was prompted by reports made by officials with the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) that illegal immigrants were being allowed to board planes by TSA with only a Notice to Appear issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The letter says the Notice to Appear, known as I-862, "may be used along with another form of identification in this instance." The Notice to Appear form has no photo, or any security features, including watermarks.

The letter to Marchant continues, "As part of the issuance process for Form I-862, the person undergoes a biographic systems check, and a biometric systems check against both the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System and the Automated Biometric Identification System prior to the issuance of Form I-862. TSA needs to be able to assess a wide range of information proffered by a passenger in order to investigate the passenger’s identity and make sure that watch list matching has occurred."

After the initial story broke in July by Breitbart News' Brandon Darby, a TSA spokesman insisted on Twitter that the article and allegations were "completely wrong."

In July, Darby spoke with Hector Garza, who works for the local NBPC affiliate in Laredo, Texas, who said the TSA was "allowing them to travel commercially using paperwork that could easily be reproduced or manipulated on any home computer."

Other news outlets also reported the allegations made by NBPC officials.

"Late last week, we were told by Border Patrol agents in Laredo, Texas, that they had observed TSA accepting I-862 notice to appear in court documents from illegal aliens who had just been released from Border Patrol custody, and allowing them to fly," Shawn Moran, NBPC vice president, told KFOX14.

"We did receive reports that in El Paso, illegal aliens were walked around security, much to the dismay of U.S. citizens who were standing in line waiting to be screened," he added.

At the time, the TSA denied in a statement that the Notice to Appear document was "an acceptable form of primary ID at the TSA checkpoint."

In a statement issued July 11, the NBPC said it learned that as recently as July 9, illegal immigrants had been processed by Border Patrol agents in the Laredo Sector, were released with an I-862 Notice to Appear, and used that document as identification to board flights leaving from Laredo International Airport.

"Border Patrol agents witnessed illegal aliens present the I-862s to Transportation Security Administration officers, who accepted the form, and cleared the illegal aliens through a security checkpoint. The Border Patrol agents notified the TSA officers that the I-862 is not a government-issued form of identification. The TSA officer then notified a supervisor, who reviewed the documents, made copies, and told the Border Patrol agents that because the documents were issued by the Border Patrol that TSA was willing to accept them. Another supervisor looked over the documents and said they were going to forward them to their national headquarters for guidance.

"Subsequent inquiries made by National Border Patrol Council representatives indicate that TSA in Laredo has been accepting these documents as valid identification to travel for several weeks," the council statement said.

They also responded to TSA's denials by stating that the union stands "behind the statements of Border Patrol agents and are confident that surveillance from the Laredo Airport will support these assertions. Any thorough investigation will show that TSA officers and supervisors were aware that the individuals were illegal aliens, had no valid identification, and were still cleared to fly." Read more about TSA Admits Allowing Illegal Migrants to Fly With ICE Form as ID

Murderers, Rapists, Kidnappers: Over 36,000 Criminal Illegal Immigrants Released In 2013

Nearly 200 murderers, over 400 rapists, and 300 kidnappers in the U.S. illegally were released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while awaiting deportation proceedings, according to a new report from the Center for Immigration Studies.

A total of 36,007 criminal illegal immigrants that were being processed for deportation were freed in 2013. Together, they committed nearly 88,000 crimes, according to the report, published Monday.

“I was astonished at not only the huge number of convicted criminals who were freed from ICE custody last year – an average of almost 100 a day — but also at the large number of very serious crimes they had committed,” said Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, in a statement.

ICE gathered the statistics — which include a breakdown by crime — in response to congressional inquiry following another report released earlier this year by the Center of Immigration Studies.

That report, which was based on internal Department of Homeland Security documents, showed that ICE encountered over 193,000 illegal immigrant convicts. Charging documents were issued for 125,000, and nearly 68,000 were released.

That review also found that 870,000 illegal immigrants had been removed from ICE dockets despite being in defiance of the law. The number of illegal aliens targeted for deportation fell 28 percent between 2012 and 2013, according to the documents.

The 36,007 illegal immigrants reported Monday were freed by ICE during the final disposition of their cases. The 68,000 from the previous report were criminals who encountered ICE agents — often in jails — but were released without undergoing deportation proceedings.

The 36,007 were released by bond, parole, unsupervised release, or on their own recognizance.

Besides violent criminals, ICE released nearly 16,000 illegal immigrants convicted of driving under the influence. The report also shows that ICE released nearly 2,700 illegal immigrants convicted of assault, 1,300 convicted for domestic violence, and nearly 1,300 convicted for battery.

“These figures call into question President Obama’s request to Congress for permission to reduce immigration detention capacity by 10 percent in favor of permission to make wider use of experimental alternatives to detention,” reads the report.

In June 2011, the administration began applying “prosecutorial discretion” to many deportation cases. This has led to a 40 percent decrease in the number of deportations.

“Congress should resist further action on immigration reform until the public can be assured that enforcement is more robust and that ICE can better deal with its criminal alien caseload without setting them free in our communities,” said Vaughan in a statement. Read more about Murderers, Rapists, Kidnappers: Over 36,000 Criminal Illegal Immigrants Released In 2013

Federal ruling sparks policy change for jailed immigrants facing deportation in metro area

Undocumented immigrants in the metro area will no longer be held in county lockups for the sole purpose of deportation, a change that has implications statewide. 
 
Wednesday’s announcement by sheriff’s agencies in Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties follows a federal judge’s ruling that Clackamas County violated one woman’s Fourth Amendment rights by holding her for immigration authorities without probable cause. 
 
Maria Miranda-Olivares was held 19 hours after completing a two-day sentence in Clackamas County Jail while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials investigated her residency status. She had been arrested March 14, 2012, on a domestic violence charge. 
 
Under the Secure Communities program, used to identify deportable immigrants in U.S. jails, ICE asks local authorities to hold certain inmates for up to two business days until they can be taken into federal custody. 
 
To read the rest of this article, please visit: http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2014/04/federal_rul...
 

Public advocacy, victims, and skewed moral compasses

The House of Representatives has taken up a bill, the Immigration Compliance Enforcement Act, that would, among other things, once again require de-funding of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's alien ombudsman position. 
 
I say "again" because the position, occupied by Andrew Lorenzen Strait, a crony of former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Napolitano who was hand-picked for the job, was already de-funded once by a measure that took effect a year ago. The administration's typically cheeky response was to keep employing the man and simply rename the position — deputy assistant director of custody programs and community outreach.
 
This in turn led an outraged member of Congress, Diane Black of Tennessee, to accuse the administration of hoodwinking Congress and to put together the latest de-funding effort. 
 
Of course, the House move has led many alien advocacy organizations to react in dismay. Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum lamented, "Rather than signaling a desire to move forward, it entertains an effort to make our immigrant detention system more dysfunctional by cutting critical positions." 
 
I don't know how anyone can refer to the position as "critical" and I suspect that in Noorani's eyes any immigration detention system whatever is a sign of dysfunction. Apparently, so do members of the administration, given the position taken by Napolitano's replacement, Jeh Johnson, when he recently told Congress that the administration is inclined to see the legal mandate to keep 34,000 detention beds simply as "beds available" not necessarily beds filled. 
 
This is a curious position, akin to saying that speed limits are simply suggestions, not requirements. It's also an egregious waste of taxpayer money not to fill them, since they have to be paid for, full or empty. But it, and the ombudsman position itself, are part and parcel of the absurd ongoing narrative of illegal aliens as victims — of an unfair society and jack-booted government. The narrative has been fueled not just by advocacy groups, but the administration itself with its willingness to tolerate any and all flaunting of our immigration laws.
 
Witness, for instance, previously deported aliens recently gathering in large demonstrations at border checkpoints and then abusing our system by claiming asylum en masse. The administration's response to this, and the assertion that deportation "tears families apart", is apparently going to be to order immigration agents to look the other way and ignore previously deported aliens who illegally reenter the United States even though many of those aliens were deported in the first place because they were convicted of a criminal offense and about a quarter of all aliens arrested by both border and interior agents have previously been deported.
 
But who attends to the American citizens and lawful residents who are victimized by illegal alien criminals? Certainly not Andrew Lorenzen Strait, who was never an advocate for the public at large; his "public advocate" title sounds better than the more accurate "illegal alien advocate in the midst of a large agency supposedly dedicated to enforcing immigration laws". 
 
Sadly, the answer to the question "Who attends to American citizens and lawful residents who are victimized by illegal alien criminals?" appears to be "No one". The Center for Immigration Studies has documented, over a considerable period of time, any number of individuals killed, maimed, or otherwise harmed by illegal aliens, and the government's callousness and indifference to them and their surviving families.
 
As if we did not have enough such examples, now comes another. This one is so outrageous that the government appears to be willing to violate federal freedom of information and privacy laws in order to frustrate the attempts of the citizen victim to explore the legal avenues available. Here is a summary of the case prepared by Syracuse University's TRAC Freedom of Information Project:
 
Niche Knight was struck by a vehicle driven by Alfredo DeJesus Flores, an undocumented worker, which resulted in the amputation of both of Knight's legs. Knight filed a civil suit against Flores, who was temporarily incarcerated in the county jail and then removed to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In order to contact Flores for purposes of the civil suit, Knight asked ICE to provide his alien number and current address. ICE denied the request under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy). Knight appealed the agency's decision, but the agency upheld its denial, indicating that it would not disclose information about Flores without his consent. Knight then filed suit.
 
News reports and other online sources reveal that DeJesus Flores was charged with driving under the influence when he struck Ms. Knight. 
 
The exemption cited by ICE is shockingly inappropriate. The federal Privacy Act is very clear: The only individuals who have privacy rights under the law are United States citizens and lawful permanent resident aliens. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(2).) 
 
So in its zeal to protect the nonexistent privacy interests of an illegal alien criminal who maimed a United States citizen — as the result of just another one of the "minor" traffic offenses alien advocacy groups are constantly going on about — a federal agency stymies the victim and forces her to file a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain information that its "public" advocate should have immediately made available, given the facts of the case.
 
The tale of immigration enforcement under this administration is one of skewed moral compasses and misplaced narratives. The real victims of the story are American citizens and lawful resident aliens, collectively and individually.
 

Obama preparing to stop ICE from targeting immigration offenders

On Friday, a DHS official leaked to the Los Angeles Times hints of two policy changes in the works to further reduce deportations. If implemented, we can expect deportations to drop by tens of thousands per year, and the communities where they are released can expect them to renew the criminal activity that caused them to be referred to ICE in the first place. 
 
The first change apparently being considered would be to stop deporting illegal aliens whose "only" convictions have been for immigration offenses. 
 
Some immigration violations are quite serious, although anti-enforcement groups like to give the impression that they are the equivalent of jaywalking. For example, alien smuggling is an immigration offense, as is international child abduction, and immigration fraud. 
 
But perhaps most important to the anti-enforcement grievance groups, this policy change would stop ICE from removing illegal aliens who have been deported before. ICE agents would be forced to look the other way at illegal aliens committing a federal felony offense that is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, depending on the circumstances. Similarly, agents would have to ignore illegal aliens who abscond from immigration court hearings. 
 
The proposed policy could prevent ICE from removing war criminals and terrorists, not to mention suspected sex offenders, gang members, and cartel operatives who for whatever reason have not been prosecuted or convicted of crimes, but who have immigration violations that enable ICE to kick them out.
 
It is an immigration violation for an illegal alien to possess a gun. Presumably that would cease to be a basis for removal under this policy, and one less tool for ICE agents to use against violent gangs.
 
The second change being considered would apparently limit the number of illegal aliens who could be detained after coming to ICE's attention after a local arrest. 
 
These are not small changes. Their effect would be to allow illegal aliens who are detected after committing crimes to remain at large, potentially continuing criminal activity and putting the public at risk. Illegal aliens who commit offenses that are rarely prosecuted or are dismissed, such as identity theft and traffic offenses, would suffer no consequences. These changes would welcome back all those who the U.S. government has already taken the time, effort, due process, and expense to process before, and invite still more to skip immigration hearings in further contempt of the law. 
 
Immigration enforcement, especially in the interior, has already deteriorated to the point where perhaps 90 percent of the illegal aliens in the country now face no threat of deportation, thanks to the administration's "prosecutorial discretion" policies.
 
The number of aliens deported from the interior has dropped 40 percent since 2011, despite the fact that ICE agents are encountering more criminal aliens than ever before, as a result of better information sharing with local police and jails. 
 
If the first proposed change barring ICE from removing non-criminal immigration violators were to be implemented, ICE would end up removing significantly fewer illegal aliens. In 2013, ICE removed 23,436 who fell into this category, representing 17 percent of interior removals. These included 10,358 repeat immigration violators, 10,336 first-time immigration violators, and 2,742 immigration fugitives. It is worth repeating that the vast majority of these individuals were referred to ICE because of a local arrest.
 
It is unclear how the second proposed change, limiting detention of arrested illegal aliens, would affect operations. Already less than 2 percent of ICE's caseload is detained (less than 33,000 aliens out of 1.8 million). More than three-fourths of current immigration detentions are mandated by statute — such as cases of violent felons who re-enter after deportation. ICE already releases and/or declines to process more than 70 percent of the aliens encountered by officers, even though most are discovered as a result of the alien's involvement in criminal activity, and most are deportable. 
 
This is all political fun and games for the White House, designed to mollify the anti-enforcement grievance groups who are demanding an end to all deportations — until someone gets killed. And that's not hyperbole. A 2012 study initiated by the House Judiciary committee with subpoenaed data from ICE found that 59 murders were committed over a 2.5 year period by illegal aliens who had been referred to ICE but were released instead of charged. 
 
Prosecution of immigration violators — regardless of criminal convictions — is important not only for public safety reasons, but because it helps maintain the integrity of our immigration system. To ignore repeated violations simply invites more lawbreaking, and is profoundly unfair to those trying to navigate our legal immigration system. 
 
 

Hillsboro police officer justified in fatal shooting of man during traffic stop, DA says

Court records indicate that Victor Torres-Elizondo, killed by a Hillsboro police officer after he fired a shot at police during a traffic stop, had a criminal history that involved multiple drug-related crimes but no violent offenses....
 

...Torres-Elizondo, 30, who also goes by Victor Torres, had multiple drug-related convictions in Oregon and Washington state during the past 10 years, according to court records....

Read more about Victor Torres-Elizondo.
  Read more about Hillsboro police officer justified in fatal shooting of man during traffic stop, DA says

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - ICE