Posted on 04/24/2006 11:20:43 AM PDT by LouAvul
MIAMI - Federal immigration authorities arrested 183 fugitives and other illegal immigrants in Florida alone last week, the state's largest roundup in a single week, officials said Monday.
The arrests included people convicted of sex offenses, child abuse, cocaine trafficking and weapons violations. They were originally from 26 countries and most eventually will be deported.
"Anybody who is a fugitive from justice is a danger to the community," said Michael Rozos, the field director in Miami of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's "Operation Phoenix" effort to find and deport fugitive illegal immigrants.
"These operations have been going on for years, but they have become more focused," he said.
Of the 183 arrested, 130 were fugitives who had already been ordered deported by an immigration judge. The remaining 53 were also illegal immigrants who happened to be present when fugitives were taken into custody, Rozos said.
The fugitive operation is separate from another ICE-led crackdown on employers who hire and harbor illegal immigrants. Rozos said both are part of the Secure Border Initiative, a Homeland Security Department plan intended to beef up enforcement of existing immigration laws inside the U.S. and toughen border security.
Ninety-five of those arrested were in South Florida, 35 were arrested in Tampa, 30 in Jacksonville and 23 in Orlando, according to ICE.
Another case of "election year" crackdown. The politicians of both parties really do believe we are stupid. But of course the net result of the last 40 years of "puhbec etukashun" .... who knows.
More conservation measures....catch and release?
This doesn't sound compassionate to me.
The compassionate Bush is supporting this dog and pony show to push through his super-Amnesty. Once signed, no more show-arrests.
183 down. 19,999,817 to go.
"But its starting to send a message"
Until the word gets around that those arrested are given an appreance ticket and then released without bail with instructions to appear in court several weeks down the road, which gives them plenty of time to buy a new set of identification papers and slip back into the shadows.
"Expect resident crank "DAne" to show up and REALLY get this thread mucked up."
Maybe he got picked up.
What a novel concept.
Especially since arrest is usueally followed by release with no real consequences.
"Well, with an admitted number of 12 million illegals (translation: 30 million illegals), 183 arrests isn't a confidence inspiring number."
No it's not... but we can use this to our advantage by reporting those Companies to ICE that we suspect of hiring illegals.
If that doesn't work, there's always public embarassment by getting the details and taking out a half page ad in the local newspaper to advertise the companies practice.
Better make sure of the facts first however.
If we could successfully deport 300 a day, it would take a century to fix the problem.
But don't worry, Bush already has the white flag on the halyards.
Expect resident crank "DAne" to show up and REALLY get this thread mucked up.
LOL. "DAne" has more then one screen name.
Another highly publicized immigration raid to soften up voters to accept Bush's amnesty proposal (Kennedy's proposal too).
When, in the last 6 years, have we seen so many immigration raids reported in the media?
It's only been 34 minutes. How long does catch and release take?
Isn't that what happened to the thousand or so that were picked up the other day and went unreported by the media?
Feds Arrest 183 Illegal Immigrants in Fla.
Excellent! Do this across every city in the U.S. every day for the next 5 years and THEN we can start to talk about a "guest worker" program.
Enforce the current laws President Bush and stop your pandering! You are pathetic on this issue.
"The arrests included people convicted of sex offenses, child abuse, cocaine trafficking and weapons violations. They were originally from 26 countries and most eventually will be deported."
"Most"?! Which ones fit the criteria for remaining in the country? It must be the child abusers and molestors, since Florida is a haven for the scumbags."
Word out today.....Brotherhood of Teamsters supporting May 1st boycott and amnesty rights of those lovely people you just mentioned.
Bush said today it couldn't be done. Guess he's trying to prove it.
susie
Is that boycott still on? I thought they were calling it off.
The big question is, is this for-show to boost poll numbers at a time when Americans are hopping-mad at our government over this issue, or is this a sign that they are actually committed to enforcing immigration laws?
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.