A group of immigration rights organizations filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and nine other federal agencies demanding transparency on a Department of Homeland Security deportation program.
As the Obama administration continues plans to deport Central American asylum-seekers, these organizations say the ongoing deportations are largely fueled by DHS’s “Priority Enforcement Program.”
The groups argue every step of the deportation efforts need to be disclosed to the public—yet details of everything that has been going on have not been released, according to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which is part of the lawsuit.
More than 10 months ago, the immigration advocacy groups filed a Freedom of Information Act to get PEP documents from ICE and the nine other federal agencies, including the FBI. NDLON says ICE refused to provide any, and, altogether, the 10 agencies merely issued five documents in response.
The federal complaint says:
Immigration reform and deportation policies are now constantly and heavily debated in national and local arenas. Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit because of Defendants’ failure to satisfy their statutory obligations to provide information about government activities and because of the pressing need to effectively inform and educate the public about immigration law enforcement policy and practice.
Without knowledge about the federal government’s immigration policy, the public cannot effectively engage in meaningful conversations about immigration reform, or respond to the federal government’s assertions concerning its policies and practice.
Defendants have shrouded their immigration law enforcement policies in secrecy, shielding themselves from any public accountability. Defendants’ actions directly violate the central objective of the FOIA.
PEP sets up guidelines for removal priorities, and allows for DHS to work closely with state and local law enforcement to target undocumented migrants who are felons and a threat to national security. PEP goes hand-in-hand with a 2014 memorandum by DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson that also says felons are the top priority for deportation. However, also listed as a priority, are new migrants who entered the country after Jan. 1, 2014, and were denied asylum in the U.S. These migrants, such as the hundreds of asylum-seekers from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras who were recently apprehended, are at the bottom of the list, but the memorandum still considers them a priority for removal.
“ICE is, once again, operating in secrecy. It’s time for the nation’s largest police force to come clean,” said a statement by Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “PEP has failed to meet the bare minimum requirements for transparency and accountability.”
In the lawsuit, the groups also cite concerns for constitutional violations, and argue programs like PEP strain relationships between the community and local law enforcement, saying it affects public safety since immigrants are afraid to report crimes, for instance—similar to the issues Arizona cities faced with SB 1070, which gave police departments the green light to verify a person’s immigration status, walking a fine line into racial profiling and civil rights violations.
PEP’s predecessor, a program known as “Secure Communities,” or S-COMM, ” was mired in the same duplicity and double-speak that led to the largest-ever FOIA litigation in ICE history, and ultimately, the termination of the program,” according to a statement by plaintiff Danelly Bello of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Cardozo Law School.
(Added after publication):
“As a matter of policy, ICE does not comment on matters pending litigation,” according to an agency spokesperson.
This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2016.
You’re damn straight! Criminals should have access to all our secrets. In this bizzarro world we now live in.
What does this woman have against anything lawful?
Danish authorities have warned hospitals over possible outbreak of infectious diseases as several cases of diphtheria, tuberculosis and malaria carried by the refugees have already been registered.
“There is no doubt that infectious diseases are coming in with the refugees that we aren’t used to. There have been discussions on whether all refugees who come to Denmark should be screened,” he added.
Reuters
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And we can’t even do background checks?
NOTE & WARNING: The links provided below contain direct quotes from Obama and his officials.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/16/obama-amnesty-extends-businesses-hire-illegals/
Obama gives free pass to businesses that hire illegals
Audits, fines drop for employers
“President Obama took office vowing to go after unscrupulous employers who hire illegal immigrants, but worksite audits have plunged over the last year and a half, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Immigration Studies, tumbling along with the rest of immigration enforcement.”
The Left-Leaning LA Times posted an article that shows that the Obama administration, the Illegal Alien lobby, and the major media outlets have been in collusion to depict the “high” deportation numbers. The exact opposite is true since the beginning of the current President’s policy. Interior deportation has and will be lower than 1973 rates. This is leading towards more people overstaying their visas and currently, more Illegal Alien minors crossing the border. Obama has just recently instructed border patrol to not turn back those Illegal Aliens on record as having entered illegally as priors, but to let them pass IF they don’t have a major criminal record. After the first Illegal Entry, it is a felony each time thereafter.
Even Obama in 2011, called the deportation numbers deceptive when talking to Hispanic voters. President Obama said statistics that show his administration is on track to deport more illegal immigrants than the Bush administration are misleading.
“The statistics are a little deceptive,” he said Wednesday in an online discussion aimed at Hispanic voters.”
“If you are a run-of-the-mill immigrant here illegally, your odds of getting deported are close to zero — it’s just highly unlikely to happen,” John Sandweg, until recently the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/184393-obama-calls-for-pathway-to-citizenship-in-online-talk
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-deportations-20140402,0,545192,full.story#axzz2xkzioeHR
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/12/deportations-come-mostly-from-border-dhs-chief-say/?page=1
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/346043/cooking-boo
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2015-obamas-priority-enforcement-program-protects-87-percent-2021453
Immigration Reform 2015: Obama’s Priority Enforcement Program Protects 87 Percent Of Undocumented Immigrants, Report Finds
“The refocus in law enforcement efforts has effectively protected 9.6 million of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants from deportation, the report found. In all, a full implementation of Obama’s changes would reduce annual deportations to approximately 25,000…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/immigration-chief-sanctuary-cities-influx-kids/
“The federal government’s chief deportation agency has seen its success plummet under President Obama, and its chief, Sarah R. Saldana, will tell Congress on Tuesday that they’ve had trouble adapting to the changing face of illegal immigration and a lack of cooperation from both American cities and from foreign countries.
Ms. Saldana, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), says in testimony prepared for the House Judiciary Committee that the dramatic drop in deportations is a reflection of a trickier set of circumstances and pressures from all sides.
She said she had to pull agents off their regular duties during last summer’s illegal immigrant surge at the border, which meant fewer people focusing on deporting the longtime illegal immigrants living in the interior of the U.S. And she said the lack of cooperation from states, counties and cities when agents ask them to hold an illegal immigrant for pickup has also hindered efforts.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/18/30-million-illegal-immigrants-in-us-says-mexicos-former-ambassador/
30 Million Illegal Immigrants in US, Says Mexico’s Former Ambassador on MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/backlash-grows-over-trump-s-immigration-plan-507691587765
“The former ambassador stated,” If you were to deport the 30 million undocumented immigrants in the United States that’s going to cost you about 130 billion dollars.”
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/social-affairs/20151125/thousands-of-unaccompanied-children-crossed-us-mexico-border-in-october
Thousands of unaccompanied children crossed US-Mexico border in October
http://www.latintimes.com/us-border-arrests-immigrant-children-and-families-increased-52-percent-august-342201
US Border Arrests Of Immigrant Children And Families Increased 52 Percent in August
“According to statistics released by the U.S. Border Patrol nearly 10,000 unaccompanied minors and families were arrested in the month of August, a 52 percent jump from last year.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2015-immigrant-families-surging-again-us-border-homeland-security-2043891
Immigration Reform 2015: Immigrant Families Surging Again At US Border, Homeland Security Says
“Federal border officials might have spoken too soon when they predicted earlier this year that the level of illegal immigration to the U.S. among mothers and children would decrease. There was actually a surge of immigrant families crossing U.S. borders last month [July 2015], a top Department of Homeland Security official told a federal court Thursday.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/21/surge-illegal-children-families-accelerates/?page=1
Surge of illegal children, families accelerates 10,000 caught at border in September
“The surge of children and families crossing the southwest border illegally accelerated again in September, leaving fiscal year 2015 the second-worst on record, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Border Patrol.”
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/ongoing-migration-from-central-america-an-examination-of-fy2015-apprehensions
Ongoing Migration from Central America: An Examination of FY2015 Apprehensions
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/9/20-pct-illegals-caught-border-have-criminal-record/
Agents say just 40 percent of U.S.-Mexico border under control
20 percent of illegals caught at border have criminal records
“Less than half of the U.S.-Mexico border is under “operational control,” and one out of every five illegal immigrants caught there has a criminal record, the chief of Border Patrol agents’ labor union told Congress Wednesday when detailing violence that increasingly spills over the international boundary.”
Here’s what Law Enforcement really think of Obama’s “Priorities” of deporting Illegal Aliens Criminals:
http://www.sheriffs.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/GovAffairs/NSA%20CIR%202013%20FINAL.pdf
National Sheriffs’ Association Position Paper on Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The National Sheriffs’ Association’s press release reaffirmed organization’s stance articulated in its 2013 position paper on immigration policy. (Id.)In the paper, the Association advocated for effective and efficient securing of the border, enforcement of the immigration laws currently on the books, requiring information sharing between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials, withholding federal reimbursement money from jurisdictions who refuse to cooperate with immigration officials, and strengthening employer verification requirements, among other things. (National Sheriff’s Association, Jun. 25, 2013) The paper concluded, “The National Sheriffs’ Association strongly opposes outright amnesty for those individuals currently here illegally. Amnesty does not work. When granted in 1986, it did little to stop the flow of illegal individuals from coming across the borders and, in fact, contributed to thousands of fraudulent applications for amnesty.”
http://c3.nrostatic.com/sites/default/files/SheriffsAgainstAmnesty.pdf
Bristol County, Massachusetts Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson
“No longer can we sit idle while the inaction of our Federal Government marginalizes our ability to preserve public safety, enforce our laws, and protect the Constitutional rights of all who legitimately reside and work in our communities.”
http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sacramento/sacramento-sheriff-criticizes-obama-on-immigration/29851418
Sacramento sheriff criticizes Obama on immigration
“Jones vowed to crusade against illegal immigration after the shooting rampage last month by a Mexican man with a long criminal history who was in the country illegally.”
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/07/03/breaking-pier-14-murder-suspect-had-been-deported-5-times-with-7-felonies/
BREAKING: Pier 14 Murder Suspect Had Been Deported 5 Times with 7 Felonies
“Five-time deportee and seven-time convicted felon Francisco Sanchez has been jailed on suspicion of shooting and killing 31-year-old Kathryn Steinle Wednesday evening while taking photos with her father at Pier 14 in San Francisco, California. Sanchez was freed after the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department refused to honor a request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain him, following a policy adopted in 2014. He was arrested soon after the shooting.”
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2015/03/20/by-the-way-ice-just-released-thousands-more-violent-criminal-illegal-aliens-onto-american-streets-n1973552?utm_source=TopBreakingNewsCarousel&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=BreakingNewsCarousel
By The Way, Ice Just Release 30,558 More Violent Criminal Illegal Aliens Onto American Streets
http://cis.org/ICE-Document-Details-36000-Criminal-Aliens-Release-in-2013
ICE Document Details 36,000 Criminal Alien Releases in 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/22/immigration-detainees-released-criminal-records/17714925/
U.S. misinformed Congress, public on immigrant release
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/202142-dhs-document-68000-illegal-immigrants-with-criminal-convictions-released-in
DHS document: 68,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions released in 2013
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/10/17/thousands-of-illegal-immigrants-released-including-3000-with-felony-charges-or-convictions/
Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Released — Including 3,000 With Felony Charges or Convictions
“ICE Director Saldaña Admits Dramatic Decline in Criminal Alien Deportations
Testifying last week before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on the Obama administration’s lax interior enforcement policies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Sarah Saldaña admitted a dramatic decline in criminal alien deportations. ….Sessions was not satisfied, noting that her agency’s budget for deportation was increased from $2.6 billion in 2011 to $3.4 billion this year, and that the government even returned part of that allotment. (Id.) Summing up the hearing, Sessions said the decline in removals
“demonstrated the failure of our system, when the one area that we were
promised was going to be aggressively pursued was criminal aliens, and
that is plummeting also. So there’s nothing really working effectively.”
http://www.c-span.org/video/?401468-1/hearing-unaccompanied-immigrant-children-sponsor-background-checks
It has been proven that these continuing “surges” are not fleeing any uptick of crime, violence, gang activity. They were promised “permisos” from their clergy and media. Due to Obama’s lax immigration policy, they believe this to be true. Not mentioned that 70-90% of those released on “bond” or “security” bracelets do not show up for their legal proceedings. They just “disappear” waiting “in the shadows” for the next mass amnesty.
Thank you DonHonda.
If the readers here do not see that this is a real cultural and economic war than you are blind.
It is not racist to want legal immigration. The current laws are not enforced, and this direction comes from the POTUS all the way down to your local sheriff.
If you are an American, and you support unchecked limitless immigration and you have children, or your relatives have children, just euthanize them now – it is the humane thing to do.
Help these people in their own countries.
The same old tired old men with the same old complaints. Yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.
Drink a few quarts of prune juice before you take your sleeping pills. You’ll be in your right-wing heaven when you awake.
Rat T: Secret laws are ok? This sounds like something straight out of the Kremlin. I suspect that there might be some sort of toxic residue out of your e-cig filter.
They can kiss every Americans ass. If they don’t like it move to Mexico.
Oh my god, they’re deporting illegal aliens??? Someone call the president!
Check Joel Friday’s last 4 comments. They all mention prune juice. Problem there, Joel?
One day you’ll be old, too. Sooner than you think. Take my word for it.
bslap, please don’t call the pres. Next week we’ll see them getting some sort of medal from him.