Department of Homeland Security

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Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio help deprive Third World of an honor student (also: Frederica Wilson, David Rivera, Ros Lehtinen, Napolitano, Reid) - 03/08/12

On the surface, the story of an illegal alien Florida honor student who was going to be deported but who now has a two year reprieve (link) sounds like a heartwarming tale; good luck finding anyone in the media not presenting it as such. However, after the excerpt I'll discuss three very major downsides that you'll never hear about from the establishment media. Then, I'll mention what you can do...

Obama admin shutting down 287g immigration enforcement program - 02/17/12

... budget for the upcoming year, Department of Homeland Security officials say they will not sign new contracts for 287(g) officers working in the field and will terminate the "least productive" of those agreements — saving an estimated $17 million. All the contracts between ICE and local police agencies run for three years, so that portion of the program could be finished by November when the last...

Temporary Protected Status extended 18 more months (El Salvador) - 01/10/12

As you can see by the next link, nothing says "Permanent" quite like Temporary Protected Status. That government program allows foreign citizens to stay in the U.S. on a "temporary" basis due to disasters or strife in their homelands. It's important to note that those covered by it are here legally: they aren't illegal aliens. The issue is that TPS keeps getting extended year after year. Another...

Obama voting push: relaxes Green Card wait time for illegal alien family members (Luis Gutierrez) - 01/06/12

From this: Obama administration officials announced on Friday that they will propose a fix to a notorious snag in immigration law that will spare hundreds of thousands of American citizens from prolonged separations from immigrant spouses and children. Illegal immigrants who are married to or are children of American citizens are generally allowed under the law to become legal residents with a...

DHS gives in to Luis Gutierrez demand to halt a deportation; Gutierrez keeps promoting bad policy - 01/04/12

... deportation proceedings, and the Department of Homeland Security gave in. He recounts it at the Huffington Post, at the same time as promoting a very bad immigration policy (link). His tale concerns woman in Alabama who'd been stopped by local police for a moving violation (not turning her headlights on, which needless to say could be quite dangerous). Her son and husband are U.S. citizens, but...

DOJ investigation claims Sheriff Joe Arpaio engaged in "unconstitutional policing" (immigration, Arizona, Maricopa County) - 12/15/11

... others' letters. UPDATE: The Department of Homeland Security has also apparently suspended Arpaio's ability to take part in immigration enforcement. Per tweets by Lacey: * ICE to #Arpaio: immigration authorities will no longer respond to sheriff's deputies' traffic stops, civil infractions or minor offenses. * "These steps will ensure that ICE detainees are not subject to the violations detailed...

Is Elizabeth Warren fake? (opposes Secure Communities immigration enforcement) - 09/20/11

... program. It's described by the Department of Homeland Security at ice.gov/secure_communities: For decades, local jurisdictions have shared the fingerprints of individuals who are booked into jails with the FBI to see if they have a criminal record. Under Secure Communities, the FBI automatically sends the fingerprints to ICE to check against its immigration databases. If these checks reveal that...

Dozens of pro-illegal immigration groups were invited to Obama's mini-amnesty rollout and you weren't - 08/25/11

On August 18, Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security announced an administrative amnesty that could cover 300,000 or more illegal aliens. The PDF here (write-up here) has a peek inside how that sausage was promoted, if not made. (Make sure and see each link if you aren't familiar with these groups; this site has more extensive archives on illegal immigration supporters than almost every...

Obama declares administrative mini-amnesty: will review all 300,000 facing deportation hearings (UPDATE: open the floodgates?) - 08/18/11

... 300,000 illegal aliens (link). The Department of Homeland Security will conduct an individual review of all 300,000 deportation hearings with the goal of allowing some of them to stay here. And, instead of deporting illegal aliens in order to free up jobs for Americans, some of those who'll be allowed to stay will be given work permits. Per DHS secretary Janet Napolitano: "From a law enforcement...

Big Business wants more skilled immigration; Alejandro Mayorkas does their bidding as fast as he can (USCIS, U.S. Chamber, NFAP, AILA, Jacoby, USCCB) - 08/18/11

... evidence, pointed to a recent Aug. 2 Department of Homeland Security and USCIS announcement to increase transparency and efficiency around visas for skilled workers. Mayorkas said that he thought some of the group's recommendations were "well taken" but explained that he would have to further examine them to determine whether they might amount to regulatory and statutory changes -- ones that...

DHS makes Secure Communities nationwide, no opt-out (so far). Lofgren, ACLU, NAKASEC, FIRM, CHIRLA, ICIRR, MIRA, Frank Sharry, NIF outraged. - 08/08/11

... some good news for a change: The Department of Homeland Security notified 39 governors Friday that the fingerprint-sharing program did not need their approval to operate in their states, and said it had voided agreements they had signed to authorize their states' participation, according to a copy of the letter. "This change will have no effect on the operation of Secure Communities in your...

DHS sued for information on criminal illegal aliens turned over to them (Prince William County) - 08/04/11

... long-anticipated lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The suit demands the release of records pertaining to the criminal illegal aliens detained and transferred by the County to DHS pursuant to its detainer requests since 2008. In July 2007, Prince William County implemented an illegal immigration enforcement policy that serves as a model for local jurisdictions. The policy...

DHS now using loopholes to allow more skilled immigration, no legislation required (Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS) - 08/03/11

The Department of Homeland Security's USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) announced yesterday that they're going to be allowing more skilled immigration, even as millions of Americans - including tech workers - are unemployed. Rather than putting it to a vote by trying to pass a bill, they're going to be using loopholes in the current laws. From this: Alejandro Mayorkas, director of...

DHS officials misled about backdoor amnesty for illegal aliens (Houston, John Morton) - 06/27/11

From this: Homeland Security officials misled the public and Congress last year in an effort to downplay a wave of immigration case dismissals in Houston and other cities amid accusations that they had created a "back-door amnesty," newly released records show. The records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, include a series of internal memos from Immigration and Customs...

DHS revises Secure Communities to enable illegal immigration (John Morton, ACLU, CHIRLA, NDLON, NIF, AILA, NYT, Ammiano) - 06/20/11

... immigration supporters against the Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement program "Secure Communities" has at least partly succeeded as ICE chief John Morton announced changes to that program. Those changes will reinforce the message that the Obama administration has been sending for years: illegal aliens who don't commit major crimes get to stay (see Obama immigration, Janet...

DHS IG to investigate Secure Communities in [August 2010] (Zoe Lofren) - 05/20/11

[IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW] Per this, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (Charles Edwards) will be investigating the Secure Communities program in 2012. Edwards says the investigation seeks "to determine the extent to which ICE uses the program to identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens from the United States." Rep. Zoe Lofgren - an immigration lawyer and supporter of...

Lax DHS policies resulted in illegal alien drunk driver killing a nun - 03/04/11

... lax policies on the part of the Department of Homeland Security, an illegal alien who had been convicted of drunk driving and had a series of other run-ins with police was not deported immediately. Instead, he was put into DHS' "Alternatives to Detention" program and in August 2010 he drove drunk and killed a nun and seriously injured two other nuns. Read about it here, including the following...

Border Patrol used beanbags against armed bandits (Brian Terry) - 03/03/11

... before Congress today (link): Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a congressional panel Wednesday that U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and his fellow agents were not under orders to refrain from using lethal force in a December gunbattle near the Mexican border that resulted in Mr. Terry´s death. Testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Miss Napolitano said...

GAO: DHS has "operational control" of just 44% of the border; only 15% is "controlled" - 02/17/11

... Accountability Office) report, the Department of Homeland Security only has "operational control" of 44% of the U.S.-Mexico border, and only 15% of the border is "controlled" (the highest level that GAO measured). A write-up is here and the PDF is at this link. On the plus side, the percentage under operational control has been rising over the past five years (see the chart in the PDF). And, in...

DHS cover up of WMD smuggled into U.S.? San Diego port CBP official interview - 02/14/11

... the U.S. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security denies that such an incident ever happened. Obviously, there are a lot of possibilities here. The DHS could be lying (which wouldn't be surprising). The DHS official could be following orders to try to scare people (see Were terror alerts faked to elect Bush?) If you're on the fringe, maybe the DHS could be planning a false flag...

DHS uses Giffords shooting to push loose borders political agenda (Jared Lee Loughner, American Renaissance) - 01/09/11

... DHS. See the updates below.] The Department of Homeland Security and various media sources are using the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords by Jared Lee Loughner as an opportunity to try to smear opponents of illegal immigration, focusing on the higher-level white racial separatist group American Renaissance (DHS memo at [1], report at [2]). Not only do they get that group's ideas wrong, but they...

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, several others shot; Palin, Tea Party candidate - 01/08/11

... be even worse. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is using this as an opportunity to try to smear opponents of illegal immigration, stupidly focusing on the higher-level white racial separatist group American Renaissance (Maggie Haberman, Politico, link). A Department of Homeland Security memo quoted by Fox News says the agency is looking into whether Loughner is “possibly linked” to...

ICE cooked the books on record number of deportations - 12/21/10

Earlier this month, the George Soros-funded Center for Investigative Reporting offered this: For much of this year, the Obama administration touted its tougher-than-ever approach to immigration enforcement, culminating in a record number of deportations. But in reaching 392,862 deportations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement included more than 19,000 immigrants who had exited the previous...

U.S. bows to United Nations Human Rights Council, ACLU helps (Arizona, SB1070) - 11/05/10

In Geneva today the United Nations Human Rights Council met to assess the U.S.'s record on human rights, or at least human rights as they see them. And, as previously discussed, the report from the U.S. government mentions Arizona's recent SB1070 immigration law. While I downplayed the significance of this in the earlier post, perhaps I should raise the alert level given that one of the groups...

Senators: ICE doing selective enforcement, not asking for more resources - 10/27/10

... letter to Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security pointing out that her version of immigration enforcement is selective and also noting that the DHS hasn't asked for more resources to do their job. Here's part of the letter (link): Recently, media reports have revealed that pending removal proceedings are being dismissed in record numbers. That sharp increase in dismissals is...

DHS undercuts 287g immigration enforcement in Nashville (wants most screened to be serious offenders) - 10/24/10

... after minor offenders as the Department of Homeland Security wants means letting those who are or who might become major offenders off the hook and it's a form of de facto amnesty. In any case, it's clear that to the Obama administration their use of 287g was too effective: they want as many somewhat law-abiding illegal aliens to stick around in the hopes of getting amnesty and converting them...

DHS claims to have set record for deportations, fines; Secure Communities - 10/11/10

From a Department of Homeland Security press release [1]: In fiscal year 2010, ICE set a record for overall removals of illegal aliens, with more than 392,000 removals nationwide. Half of those removed - more than 195,000 - were convicted criminals. The fiscal year 2010 statistics represent increases of more than 23,000 removals overall and 81,000 criminal removals compared to fiscal year 2008 -...

Secure Communities is mandatory, over objections of San Francisco and others - 10/01/10

The Department of Homeland Security's Secure Communities program collects the fingerprints of those charged with crimes by localities and checks them for immigration violations. Now, a few illegal immigration-supporting communities are finding out that, despite a previous statement from DHS implying otherwise, there's no opt-out. Localities already send such fingerprints to the FBI and the DHS...

New DHS policies are de facto amnesty; John Morton thinks ICE has enough money - 09/10/10

The Department of Homeland Security - specifically their Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency headed by John Morton - has instituted new policies that amount to a form of a de facto amnesty. And, all of this has been done without anywhere near the outcry that would occur from an amnesty proposal in Congress. Granted, these policies don't include a "pathway to citizenship" and the other...

Over 500,000 fugitive illegal aliens in U.S. (catch and release) - 09/08/10

Per this: The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) says that as of Sunday, Sept. 5, it had caught-and-released 506,232 illegal aliens who are now fugtives. That is more than the population of Sacramento, California, which currently numbers 486,189. "Fugitive illegal alien" generally means someone who was caught as an illegal alien, who promised to appear in court to answer the...

Pew: illegal immigration inflow fell (Obama not involved; Bush responsible for 5 million; 60% from Mexico; 9.3% of CA's workforce) - 09/04/10

... with similar findings by the Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Immigration Studies here. According to Pew's study: The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the United States was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005... ...This sharp decline has contributed to an overall reduction of 8% in the number...

ICE goes easy on both illegal aliens and their employers ("silent raids", audits) - 09/03/10

... the Bush administration, the Department of Homeland Security engaged in a small number of showy but not overly effective immigration raids. Under the Obama administration, the DHS switched to (in addition generally not doing its job) what are called "silent raids" where they audit a company's employment records and then request that the employees are fired if they can't prove they're here...

DHS letting deportable illegal aliens go if they could get green card (John Morton) - 08/27/10

From this: In a new and more lenient policy, the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has instructed the agency's legal office to stop the deportation proceedings of foreign nationals who may now be eligible for a green card. South Florida immigration attorneys and activists said the move is the first solid evidence of more tolerance by ICE toward some foreign nationals facing removal...

DHS caught, released, can't find 481 illegal aliens from terrorist states, countries of interest - 08/12/10

... fiscal years from 2007-2009, the Department of Homeland Security caught and released 481 illegal aliens from nations designated as state sponsors of terrorism and “countries of interest,” and those 481 aliens are now fugitives, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement database obtained by CNSNews.com as the result of a Freedom of Information Act request. The four state sponsors of...

John Morton of ICE misleads, says he and Obama don't support amnesty - 08/12/10

Back in 2007, former Department of Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff said that the DHS wasn't "in the business of doing amnesty". Now, the head of the DHS' Immigrations and Custom Enforcement ("ICE") is making similarly false claims.

ICE memo: deport the criminals first. Will they greatly reduce deporting non-criminals? - 08/09/10

From this: New guidance telling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to focus on apprehending terrorists and criminals has many of ICE's rank-and-file agents wondering who then is responsible for tracking down and detaining the millions of other illegal border-crossers and fugitive aliens now in the country. The new guidelines are outlined in a June 29 memo from Assistant Secretary...

ICE refusing to deport illegal alien students (John Morton, DREAM Act) - 08/09/10

Julia Preston of the New York Times offers this: The Obama administration, while deporting a record number of immigrants convicted of crimes, is sparing one group of illegal immigrants from expulsion: students who came to the United States without papers when they were children. In case after case where immigrant students were identified by federal agents as being in the country illegally, the...

ICE agents issue "Vote of No Confidence" on John Morton, Phyllis Coven (politicizing ICE, pushing amnesty) - 08/06/10

... unprecedented move within the Department of Homeland Security, the detention and removal officers and agents responsible for and sworn to enforcing our nation's immigration laws issued an exhaustive, scathing letter simply titled "VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN ICE DIRECTOR JOHN MORTON AND ODPP ASSISTANT DIRECTOR PHYLLIS COVEN" on June 11, 2010. The letter, acquired through sources, provides a litany...

Could Obama declare an immigration amnesty by executive order? - 07/30/10

[See the updates too] Back in Feb. 2009 we offered Could Obama and Napolitano enact a mini-amnesty... without Congress? about a scheme cooked up by two immigration lawyers under which the president could in effect give amnesty to large numbers of illegal aliens. Now, some inside the USCIS are proposing their own workarounds and loopholes under which Barack Obama could give thousands (or more) of...

Harold Hurtt - now local coordinator for ICE - is strong sanctuary city supporter - 06/25/10

From this: Harold Hurtt, a former police chief in Houston and Phoenix, has been hired as the director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of State and Local Coordination. Starting July 6, Hurtt will supervise outreach and communication between ICE, local law enforcement agencies, tribal leaders and representatives from non-governmental organizations... ...as a police chief,...