Posted on 04/08/2007 11:41:42 AM PDT by VU4G10
SAN DIEGO -- More than one-third of 18,000 people arrested in a nearly yearlong federal crackdown on illegal immigrants were not the people authorities targeted, according to government figures.
The so-called "collateral arrests" involved people picked up by immigration agents while seeking fugitives such as drug smugglers, thieves, drunken drivers and others who flouted deportation orders.
When tracking down fugitives, authorities visit a suspect's last known address and often find other immigrants, who are then asked to prove they are legally entitled to live in the United States.
Supporters of such tactics say the government is just doing its job after years of neglect.
"God bless 'em,"' said Peter Nunez, a former U.S. attorney in San Diego who teaches immigration policy at the University of San Diego. "They apparently decided to start with these fugitives. If you're going to find one (illegal immigrant), you're going to find 100."
Critics say the campaign against fugitive illegal immigrants ensnares many hard-working people who are in the country illegally but do not pose a danger.
"They're trying to sell it as something where they target (criminals) but it's become part of a larger dragnet," said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee's office in San Diego.
Dubbed "Operation Return to Sender," the crackdown began last May in cities across the nation. As of Feb. 23, it has resulted in 18,149 arrests of suspected illegal immigrants, most of whom were captured at home and in Hispanic neighborhoods.
But, according to figures from Immigration and Custom Enforcement, 37 percent of those cases, or 6,696 arrests, were "collateral" captives _ people who just happened to be present when agents arrived. Such arrests account for more than half the total in four cities: Dallas and El Paso, Texas (59 percent); New York (54 percent); and San Diego (57 percent).
On Tuesday, ICE completed a two-week sting that targeted 300 fugitives in San Diego. Agents found 62 fugitives but took 297 other people into custody, bringing the total arrests to 359. The illegal immigrants were returned to their home countries or jailed while awaiting a court hearing.
The government defends the collateral arrests.
"We can't look the other way," said Robin Baker, ICE's director of detention and removals in San Diego. "We did that for too long." The agency's guidelines are to make arrests in houses, not in the streets, Baker said, adding that agents do not randomly search communities for illegal immigrants.
For some, the stings evoke memories of immigration raids that fell out of favor in the 1980s. Since then, immigration authorities have stayed close to U.S. borders but are increasingly venturing into homes and workplaces across the country.
"It didn't happen for a good 15 years," Baker said. "Now that it's opening up again, people don't like it. They got used to us not being there."
Congressman Billybob
I shall email him an exerpt with all due haste!
when in Holy 4377 did "posing a danger" become the criteria to enforcement?!?
Sounds like good company!
I yearn for the days when cries of “La Migra!” would bring fear to anyone.
Oooh, that makes me sick when they say “hard working” as a sympathy ploy to ignore illegal immigration. What if Osama bin Laden were here working 24/7 in the strawberry fields? Maybe that illegal who killed the director and his son on Pacific Coast Highway last week was hard-working until he took a break and drank 12 beers. America is for hard-working Americans and their legal guests. Period.
I wonder how many "collateral arrests" are made when drug, theft ring, or prostitution raids are conducted, compared to the primary targets? Are these "collateral individuals" to be ignored also?
"Liberal logic" is an oxymoron, concocted by plain, ordinary, out & out, unadulterated, total morons.
Yeah, them too :-)
Yup, I've never had a moving violation and I've never been in a car accident in 30 years of driving, but I still have to have a drivers license.
Keep those large illegal stings coming from now on! O.K.? Very truly yours, All law abiding American Citizens and All law abiding Legal Immigrants!
So what?
If they are illegal BOOT THEIR BUTTS back to the country of origin!
The real question here is how fast will they be processed out of this country???
Send them back.
Ooooooooh.
If it did, the President would make sure it was enforced.
Eisenhauer did in 1954. In those days there was no political correctness. Hence the name: Operation Wetback in deporting illegals.
Y'all can look it up....
Yes.
You're like the old Y2K freaks who slammed anyone who didn't believe that the modern world was ending on 1/1/2000.
You're like the Global Warming freaks who label as blasphemers anyone who doesn't buy in to manmade climate change.
This thread is a perfect example. President Bush's ICE has made 18,000 arrests of illegals...yet you and your pals are so deranged that you call those arrests proof of Bush being the number 1 advocate for illegals.
You're off of your meds, deranged. You've found license on the anonymous internet to take "fanatacism" to a new level.
No good can come from your level of absurd extremism.
You are unappeasable.
President Bush could personally machine gun down 10,000 illegals a day and you'd find something lacking in his illegal immigration approach.
All that you can do is to find fault. You are so radical that you *must* invent slams on anyone who doesn't share your level of fanatacism.
It's ridiculous. In fact, *you* are ridiculous.
You are so blinded by your extremism that you can't see progress, can't see anything positive, and can't even recognize your friends.
Thus, your words waste everyone else's time, as your words can't possibly reason with anyone.
You speak only for fanatics, to fanatics.
Yes. To me, it is a PART of the War on Terrorism. But the President and I seem to disagree.
"Hey, this guy is just looking for work in the lettuce fields. Give him a break... will ya? He wants to do the work no American will do."
Most of those caught are released. 3000 a day jump our borders. Six days worth does not impress me one iota.
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