Posted on 08/01/2008 8:35:33 PM PDT by South40
SAN DIEGO – Would illegal immigrants voluntarily surrender to immigration authorities at the federal building in downtown San Diego? It may seem unlikely, but this is what federal immigration officials hope will happen starting Tuesday. That's when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will roll out “Operation Scheduled Departure,” a pilot program to encourage people who have outstanding deportation orders to turn themselves in.
San Diego and four other U.S. cities will participate in the program, which is slated to end Aug. 22. The other locations are Santa Ana; Chicago; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Charlotte, N.C.
Some immigration experts are decrying the idea, which is to give immigration “fugitives” an alternative to federal agents coming into families' homes and making arrests.
“We are going to make it as comfortable as possible,” said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Rather than coming into our custody and facing us in the wee hours of the morning, they can come and sit down with us.”
Mack said the program is open to people with a final deportation order. These individuals cannot have a criminal record and must “have made a decision that they are ready to comply with their order,” she said.
There are about 572,000 immigrant fugitives nationwide, including roughly 5,700 in San Diego and Imperial counties, according to her agency. The majority of them have no criminal record.
People who register for “Operation Scheduled Departure” will have 90 days to get their affairs in order before leaving. They won't be taken into custody, but may have to check in regularly with immigration officials or be monitored in some other way, Mack said.
Those who request assistance with travel to their native countries – such as flights or bus rides – will receive it, she added.
The program is still subject to laws banning illegal immigrants who have been deported from legally returning to the United States until five to 20 years later.
While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement won't turn away illegal immigrants who want to leave but lack a deportation order, they will consider those people case by case, Mack said. Individuals with a criminal record typically are held in custody pending deportation.
Federal officials are planning a series of TV and radio ads to promote the program. There also will be a dedicated Web site and toll-free phone number, although those haven't been announced.
In San Diego, people wishing to turn themselves in should go to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at 880 Front St.
The self-deportation concept has drawn scorn in certain quarters.
“It is a complete exercise in futility,” said Lilia Velasquez, an immigration attorney in San Diego. “What person in their right mind who has been hiding from the government is going to come out of the shadows and deliver themselves on a silver platter?”
Frank Sharry, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based immigration advocacy group America's Voice, quipped in a news release that the policy seemed to come “straight out of a 'Saturday Night Live' skit.”
Mack said the program was born after the agency received feedback from immigration advocates, attorneys and others critical of a recent wave of sweeps in which agents targeted illegal immigrants' homes, arrived early in the morning and often arrested people in front of their families.
Many of the individuals arrested turned out to be relatives of an illegal immigrant, and sometimes the agents went to an outdated address.
“We heard them ask to please look at alternative ways of dealing with the fugitives, ways of reducing our fugitive list that were more humane,” said Mack, who added that arrests of fugitives will continue.
How about offering US Citizens a 100 gallon gas voucher as a bounty for turning them in?
That would be cheaper than hosting them.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053876/posts
If this works the next program will be a toll free hotline for drug dealers to turn themselves in in return for doing 24 hours of Community Service rather than face a long prison term...
I’ve been suggesting bounties for years. People that claim it is “impossible” to deport 12 million illegals are wrong on two counts:
1) There are more like 30 million of them
2) Even paying a $1,000 bounty per head would clear out all 30 million in short order, and cost the taxpayers LESS than those illegals are costing in government services, free ER care, foodstamps, etc.
Isn’t this McCain’s plan?
Vicente Fox did.
What is it with leftists that they have to mock and ridicule those they disagree with? They unrelentingly savaged Dan Quayle as a lightweight forever for a spelling error. George Bush, who has a Havard MBA and speaks 2 languages is mocked as an ignorant idiot yokel. Barack Obama is exalted but he produced not on scholarly piece of work in 12 years while on staff as a law prof at University of Chicago, makes never ending verbal gaffes when not reading from a prompter. He thinks asthmatics need a respirator uh, uh, inhalator. Does the press bother to point out to him that it's called an inhaler? Of course not, since he's the people we have been waiting for.
How about everyone in SD>CA pulling their SUV or pick-up to the Home Depot parking lots tomorrow in greater area SD and loading them them up and heading for downtown San Diego?
8 illegal X “job” pickups X 3 x per day X 7 days per week X 1000 citizens per week = 168,000 per week. that is a heck of alot better than border security is allowed to accomplish.
Get busy in San Diego!
Hey, I’d even do it for a couple of fill ups.
“Isn’t this McCain’s plan?”
No McCain’s plan is to let them all stay, remember? It’s called AMNESTY.(no matter how many times John says it isn’t)
Yeah - but under McCain’s plan they would have to go to the INS and pay a small fine (thus turning themselves in.)
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