Posted on 08/19/2017 9:39:44 AM PDT by 11th_VA
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 400 people in an operation targeting undocumented parents and guardians who allegedly paid smugglers to bring their children to the U.S., putting them in grave danger. An ICE spokesman tells NPR the domestic phase of its Human Smuggling Disruption Initiative concluded on Friday. He said the "surge initiative" will now shift its focus to the transnational smuggling organizations that bring the children to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The operation, which uses immigrant children to target their sponsors in the U.S., has been controversial. Immigrant advocates complain it is hampering efforts to reunite families.
Critics also say it was just another ICE roundup, and didn't have the intended effect of breaking up smuggling rings. The vast majority of those arrested have been hit with civil and criminal immigration violations. Only a handful were charged with federal smuggling crimes.
"Instead they're really targeting this low-hanging fruit and using children as a tool for immigration enforcement," said Jennifer Podkul, policy director at Kids In Need of Defense.
Since the surge began in June, ICE has arrested more than 400 people. The agency says that included parents and guardians of immigrant children as well as "collateral arrests" or undocumented immigrants encountered during the operation. ICE officials say adults living in the U.S. who pay human smugglers to bring children here are aiding and abetting criminal smuggling networks...
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Excellent
Smugglers should be shot.
Glad to see they are going after the illegals on a variety of fronts.
Nope. Still not tired of winning!
Why pay someone? They’ve been using fake and borrowed birth certificates for decades and it’s worked just fine.
ICE arrests lawbreakers and NPR has a problem with that.
Not really news.
Oh, Yeah!
I’m fine with low hanging fruit. As the season goes on, the top fruit rots and falls to the ground so eventually will those money grubbers up the chain.
That shouldn't be too hard...once they all go back to May-hee-co.
Well they got reunited back home. It would be cruel to keep them separated between countries.
ICE arrests lawbreakers and NPR has a problem with that.
__________________________________________
I’m so happy my hard work helps to suppport NPR.
They got the smuggler’s blues
“targeting undocumented parents and guardians”
Of course we cannot stop giving taxpayer money to NPR
Hear hear! Yes! It would only take a couple..
Like.
NPR just complained because Trump/ICE are targeting criminals that are easy to catch and prosecute. Wow.
With enough low-hanging fruit you could make some really nice pinatas.
Well, they are too slow to make the catches and deportations impressive. Add a few zeros to those 400 and it might send a message.
Trump’s ICE show how “racist” (read law abiding) they are each and every day, thankfully!
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