Free Republic

Even being convicted of homicide isn’t enough to ensure illegal immigrants are detained by federal agents, the government’s top deportation official said in a letter to Congress released Monday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana said neither Obama administration policy nor federal law required her agency to detain Edwin Mejia, an illegal immigrant who arrived as part of the surge of unaccompanied children from Central America, after he was charged with vehicular homicide in Nebraska. Still, she said her officers should have taken the initiative to detain him of their own volition, and she said she’s notified all...

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) interrogated the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director in a contentious exchange during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration policy on Tuesday.One particularly interesting back-and-forth occurred when ICE Director Sarah Saldana disputed Cruz’s assertion that the Obama administration released 104,000 “criminal illegal aliens.”“When I asked you how many criminals ICE released in 2013, you were off by a factor of three,” Cruz said. “You said 30,000 — the correct answer is 104,000.”Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Saldana argued she thought she was asked about 2014 and claimed the number was actually 30,558 released illegal aliens that...

President Obama’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director tells lawmakers that no consequences are planned for sanctuary cities until Congress first passes “comprehensive immigration reform.” Sarah Saldaña testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on criminal alien violence. After hearing emotional testimony from families torn apart by illegal immigrant murderers, Republican members of Congress grilled two administration witnesses: Leon Rodriquez, Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Sarah Saldaña, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Both Rodriquez and Saldaña have been tasked with carrying out President Obama’s executive amnesty for so-called DREAMers, which includes work permits...

(CNSNews.com) - There was a bit of show and tell Tuesday on Capitol Hill, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana told the House Judiciary Committee about her department’s efforts to enforce immigration law while also following the more lenient policies outlined by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson last November. "We have actually put out real substantial training on this, sir," Saldana told Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). "And every officer uses one of these cards, which clearly outlines those priorities." Saldana held up one of the cards. "And quite frankly, I carry it myself -- and try to make...

The administration’s deportation chief backtracked Friday, just a day after she pleaded with Congress to pass laws cracking down on so-called “sanctuary” cities and states — a stance that appeared to put her at odds with her boss, President Obama. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana, who has been on the job less than 90 days, told Congress she would welcome new laws to crack down on states and localities that refuse to cooperate with her agents who are trying to apprehend and deport illegal immigrants. “Thank you, Amen,” she said Thursday when asked if she would support Congress...