Ted Kennedy, William Delahunt try blocking immigration enforcement ("Lactation Memo")

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") has created a new, not-yet-public document called "Guidelines for Identifying Humanitarian Concerns among Administrative Arrestees When Conducting Worksite Enforcement Operations" (link). While it will be sold as a humanitarian effort, the goal strongly appears to be to be to hamper immigration enforcement and to help illegal aliens remain in the U.S.

[The document outlines] elaborate steps federal agents should follow to quickly identify detainees who have children or those who should be released for other reasons, such as pregnancy or illness. They also guarantee access to legal counsel, emergency medical care, and social workers...

[Ted Kennedy]'s spokeswoman, Melissa Wagoner, said that "New Bedford was the catalyst, and illustrated the need for national reform." Wagoner's statement, which accompanied a copy of the guidelines sent to the Globe [by Kennedy's office], said the document was the product of discussions among the agency, Kennedy, and US Representative William D. Delahunt.

This follows a so-called "Lactation Memo", a copy of which is available here. And, shortly before that came an Urban Institute/National Council of La Raza study opposing enforcement and even encouraging changes in favor of those charged with identity theft. Teddy Kennedy crows over his victory here. Obviously, if he really wanted to be humanitarian, he'd work to discourage illegal immigration rather than continually enabling it.

Immigration2007b · Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:30 · · Importance: 1