Posted on 08/13/2003 3:27:15 PM PDT by Tancredo Fan
Border Patrol orders agents to limit patrol areas
The Associated Press -- August 13, 2003
SAN DIEGO
Border Patrol agents in California have been ordered to stop making arrests on city streets and avoid questioning suspected illegal immigrants except along the border and at highway checkpoints in Orange and Riverside counties.
The directive, outlined in an Aug. 8 memo, is aimed at agents in San Diego County and southern areas of Orange and Riverside counties.
It follows protests over recent arrests in San Diego and San Juan Capistrano. Five members of a Mexican family were detained Aug. 1 as they were walking to the Mexican consulate in downtown San Diego to apply for identification cards issued by the Mexican government to its citizens living in the United States.
The memo, reported Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times, tells agents that the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for enforcing immigration laws away from the border.
"The future of Border Patrol operations" depend on eliminating the public perception that agents occasionally conduct neighborhood sweeps, wrote William T. Veal, chief patrol agent for the greater San Diego area.
A union local representing Border Patrol agents said Wednesday that the order was a response to political pressures.
"In general, broad terms, it prevents agents from doing their job to the best of their ability," said Joseph Dassaro, president of National Border Patrol Council Local 1613, a union that represents San Diego-area agents. "It basically ties their hands behind their backs."
Veal did not respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday, nor did agency spokesmen in San Diego and Washington.
Mexico's Consul General Rodulfo Figueroa filed a complaint with the Border Patrol after the Aug. 1 arrests, calling them "an act of bad faith." He didn't question the legality of the arrests but said enforcement of immigration laws so close to the consulate inhibits his ability to do his job.
The Border Patrol also has come under scrutiny for a series of vehicle stops and arrests in San Juan Capistrano. Critics say parents have reported being detained while picking up and dropping off children at school.
Veal's memo was directed to all agents in the San Diego sector, which includes San Diego County and border checkpoints in San Clemente and Temecula, according to the Times. It said agents are prohibited from initiating enforcement action in cities, residential areas, near workplaces and locations where day laborers gather.
Yes --- "undocumented alien" is often false because many have stolen or fraudulent documents, "wetback" is often false because it implies someone is over here to work and many illegals aren't here to work.
I would declare an amnesty: any person illegally in the US would have 30 days to return to his country of origin and apply for legitimate entry. After the 30 days (perhaps with extensions for those who register with the INS and ask for a 60 or 90 day extension for legitimate reasons), we start to look for illegal aliens in a serious way. Chuck the illegals out. Every last one. And any illegal alien so caught and deported would be permanently barred from entry into the US, on penalty of being outlaw.
I'm all for that!
I never thought I'd see something like this after that disgraceful Clinton-Gore 'Citizenship USA' crap. This is an outrage. I'm just overjoyed that I didn't vote for the current POTUS. What a splendid decision that was.
His Royal Inarticulacy will find out next year, I hope. He'd better consult with Gray Davis soon. Exile property is getting scarce.
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.