Posted on 08/10/2004 6:04:26 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 Citing concerns about terrorists crossing the nation's land borders, the Department of Homeland Security announced today that it planned to give border patrol agents sweeping new powers to deport illegal aliens from the frontiers abutting Mexico and Canada without providing the aliens the opportunity to make their case before an immigration judge.
The move, which will take effect this month, represents a broad expansion of the authority of the thousands of law enforcement agents who currently patrol the nation's borders. Until now, border patrol agents typically delivered undocumented immigrants to the custody of the immigration courts, where judges determined whether they should be deported or remain in the United States.
Homeland Security officials described the immigration courts which hear pleas for asylum and other appeals to remain in the country as sluggish and cumbersome, saying illegal immigrants often wait more than a year before being deported, straining the capacity of detention centers and draining critical resources. Under the new system, immigrants will typically be deported within eight days of their apprehension, officials said.
Immigration legislation passed in 1996 allows the immigration service to deport certain groups of illegal aliens without judicial oversight, but until now the agency only permitted officials at the nation's airports and seaports to do so. The new rule will apply to illegal aliens caught within 100 miles of the Mexican and Canadian borders who have spent 14 days or less within the United States. The border agents will focus on deporting third-country nationals, rather than Mexicans or Canadians, and they are expected to begin exercising their new powers on Aug. 24 in Tucson and Laredo, Tex.
"There is a concern that as we tighten the security of our ports of entry through our biometric checks that there will be more opportunity or more effort made by terrorists to enter our country through our vast land borders," Asa Hutchinson, the undersecretary for border security at the Department of Homeland Security, said at a news conference.
"We recognize that we have to secure those and that's the president's first principle of immigration reform," Mr. Hutchinson said. "America must secure its borders and this is a part of that effort."
The decision was hailed by officials who have long complained that the nation's porous borders represent a serious threat to national security. But it prompted a flurry of criticism from advocates for immigrants who warned that the new system lacked adequate safeguards to ensure that people fleeing persecution, American citizens lacking paperwork or other travelers with legitimate grounds would not be improperly deported.
Mr. Hutchinson said that border agents would be trained on asylum law and that immigrants who demonstrated a credible fear of persecution would be sent to see immigrant judges, not returned to hostile governments. "That right," he said of the right to apply for asylum, "is very important."
But Homeland Security officials provided little details about the training, and advocates said that they feared that mistakes would be made when border agents decide who will be deported and who will not, often in the vast, inhospitable plains of the southern deserts.
There will always be someone to game the system.
"This may seem like a step in the right direction but what it actually does is take away punishment..."
Good point. I didn't realise that illegals were being held for as long as a year. And yet, we still have this major problem.
"Without increasing immigrant labor our economy would contract..."
Please don't get the following comparison wrong. Your argument is for more global freedom, not less. But economically speaking, history disagrees.
The South said the same thing about slavery. 'Without slaves, where would agriculture go? It would no longer be profitable. Bla-bla-bla.' Same argument.
You took the words right out of my mouth. The article started out good but.......
This is a farce with a potential for NUMEROUS discrimination lawsuits.
BUMP
BTW Illegals have no right to a lawyer AT THE BORDER. This has been the rule loooooooong before 9/11.
Most major metropolitan airports have immigration courts with a judge ON PREMISIS.
THIS IS GOOD.
BTWW: Most ALL who are stopped at the airports go back voluntarily.
A good beginning, but unfortunately, Mexican illegal invaders are exempted from this edict.
About dayum time!
Frontiers? Fontiers? What about those in El Paso (population 563,000), Laredo (pop 176,000), and McAllen (pop 132,000) where that woman was arrested the other day. FYI, there are border patrol offices in nearly every big city in the US no matter if it's in the middle of Kansas.
Yep.
Make me feel warm and fuzzy just reading it!
ping
I was really happy....until I read this part: "The border agents will focus on deporting third-country nationals, rather than Mexicans or Canadians.."
Why not deport ALL illegals??
Well isn't this nice!
People who cross our borders at other than official checkpoints are invaders and should be treated as such. The things that should be given to border patrol agents are machine guns, bullets, and marksmanship training.
ML/NJ
I'm not too thrilled with your insinuations. If you read more of the news on this topic, you will know that Fox has largely established Bush's "hands off" immigration policy on the southern border. Fox has encouraged his own people to cross the border illegally and Bush goes along with it.
If you want to go along with a liberal outfit like the AP, that's your choice, but I strongly suggest you do more research on the topic. Bush's amnesty plan has done nothing but embolden even more illegals into crossing the border.
Do some research and see what Bush's immigration policy has caused in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas and Florida. Illegal immigration has driven those states' budgets (except Florida's - so far) into the dumper and his lack of a strong immigration policy has driven the illegals to demand official documentation and rights in this country. They're called "illegal immigrants" for a reason - they are not here legally, and Bush is doing nothing but pushing Fox's policies to encourage more to come here - ILLEGALLY.
Actually the vast majority are not, they are simply released on their own reconnaissance never to be seen again. Unless they are from a special interest country or are identified criminals most are set free in what has become known as the catch and release program.
This has been a serious problem for the Border Patrol as smuggling organizations game the system. They would push through a large group of OTMs knowing that there is no room in the detention facility to hold them. They instruct the aliens to simply give up to the Patrol Officers.
The officers would spent 2 to 3 hours processing the aliens for an O/R release and the group of aliens simply walk to a predetermined location and are picked up again by the smuggler, only now guess what, they are legal with papers pending their removal proceedings and free to travel through the BP check points to anywhere in the country they want to go. Its been a long running scam that has demoralized the BP agents.
I give the administration credit on this one, but much remains to be done.
Still haven't seen mass deportations. WAITING.....
In California, we are overloaded with illegals of all backgrounds (mostly mexicans though).
I did hear that on the news. It is hardly enough to put a dent in the numbers of people here.
I read an article, will try to look for it. I think it was on American Patrol that states the numbers of illegals may be closer to 28 million, not 7 million nationwide.
Has anyone tried simply mailing copies of the form to employers?
If the IRS form becomes well known,I wouldn't be surprised to even see illegals stampeding to turn in lawbreakers for the financial reward.
And the South was right. Look what happened to cotton production and the economy of the South after the war. Were it not for the horse collar and mechanization of farming the South would still be a third world area.
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