Posted on 06/29/2005 9:21:01 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Under legislation backed Tuesday by a Ventura County congressman, the Department of Homeland Security would be able to deport immigrants who have not been convicted of committing crimes, if they belong to a group the government has designated as a criminal gang.
Under the bill, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles or another district also could secretly designate new criminal street gangs, making immigrants in those groups eligible for deportation. Any group that the government decrees to be a gang could not challenge the designation for up to two years.
Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, a lead co-sponsor of the bill, said it would "help to reclaim our neighborhoods by allowing the United States to immediately deport gang members who are in the United States illegally."
And the bill's author, Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said current laws that allow immigrants to be deported after being convicted of an aggravated felony aren't good enough.
"There are those who want us to wait until we have victims to do something about it," Forbes said at a House Judiciary Subcommittee debate on his bill.
Critics questioned the need and legality of the Forbes proposal.
"The idea that we could criminalize people who have never committed a crime in their life is quite staggering," said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
David Cole, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, said it "imposes guilt by association, resurrecting the worst of the McCarthy era."
The bill also would:
Block visas for anyone whom a consular office or the Homeland Security Department believes is a member of a criminal gang.
Prevent immigrants from questioning the validity of the gang designation in a deportation hearing.
Allow groups designated as gangs to seek a judicial review in U.S. District Court, although they could not provide new evidence.
Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, said he wants the Justice Department to review the measure.
"I can't think of a group of people I would rather see removed from the country," he said about gang members. "I certainly agree with the goals, but I'd like to see what the Justice Department says about its constitutionality."
According to the article:
Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, a lead co-sponsor of the bill, said it would "help to reclaim our neighborhoods by allowing the United States to immediately deport gang members who are in the United States illegally."
Let's chalk it up to a poorly written article.
1. Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, a lead co-sponsor of the bill, said it would "help to reclaim our neighborhoods by allowing the United States to immediately deport gang members who are in the United States illegally."
2. "The idea that we could criminalize people who have never committed a crime in their life is quite staggering," said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
So, dead didn't infer anything...it was clearly stated in the article. As I said earlier, your argument, just like Rep. Conyers' statement, is invalid as it is based on a false assumption.
GMTA
Good point!
"The idea that we could criminalize people who have never committed a crime in their life is quite staggering," said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
And this is the guy who thought Nixon should be impeached?
The downside to this would be if sometime in the future, there were a Democrap pres and another whacko AG, the law would be perverted to attack harmless (maybe a little crazy) religious groups like Waco. Same scenario as perverting the RICO statute to go after anti-abortion groups. These Demo scumbags would declare the American Legion a terrorist group (but only if they had enough money to make it worthwhile to loot). Might be a good idea to just have a kangaroo court with a politically correct name.
(And aren't ALL illegal aliens considered criminals for violating United States immigration laws?)
=========================================
Under legislation backed Tuesday by a Ventura County congressman, the Department of Homeland Security would be able to deport immigrants who have not been convicted of committing crimes, if they belong to a group the government has designated as a criminal gang.
=========================================
(Note: These laws have changed since ICE took over the INS)
Here are some examples of the most common violations of United States Immigration laws:
Examples:
(This is not a complete list of violations.)
BTTT
Neither will Homeland Security.
Does that bill include members of islam as well?
I know, you're right on with that observation.
It's the same argument the NRA uses when they say the California AG has the authority to name any weapon he doesn't like to the list of banned weapons.
Dangerous stuff in a land that loves Liberty.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!
Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!
If they are here illegally, DEPORT THEM. Not being a part of a gang, is effing nice, but I STLL dont want MY TAX DOLLARS SUPPORTING ILLEGALS!!!!!
DEPORT ALL ILLEGALS! THEY ARE LAW-BREAKERS!!!!!!!!!
How about them being here illegaly?
The proposal was worded in a way that would guarantee abuse and misinterpretation (purposely designed to fail?). A serious effort would take into account the history tattoos, buzzcuts, clothing, unique language and all the other accumulated gang life paraphanalia these creeps can't shed overnight after a single lawyer appointment.
While those all fall under "profiling" it must be recognized that the Israelis common-sense scrutinizing of their "visitors" has been extremely successful. Our government, charged with the duty of protecting its citizens, would rather allow terrorists and gangers free access than risk a lawsuit over possible discrimination.
I suspect much of our soldiers' problems overseas are caused by the same lame-brained "politically correct" BS. If they run away, lurk in the shadows and just happen to be hoarding explosives and munitions they're terrorists.
If a homey has more ink than visible skin, displays irrational arrogance while wearing the uniform of baggy pants and checked shirts we should at least be able to collect his prints and photos for the gang database. If he's a citizen with no priors he has nothing to fear. If he's an illegal he gets a free trip home while his government gets a copy of everything he's been up to.
No kidding. The Democrat-infested California legislature won't even crack down on serial child molesters. Mere criminal gang membership wouldn't even register on Democrat radar.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.