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Illegal Immigrant Crackdown

Can you say "profiling"?

Staring down a roomful of sheriffs in a Fort Lauderdale hotel last week, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano played to the audience: Illegal immigrants won't have an easy time under the Obama administration, she promised.

"Make no mistake about it. We are a law enforcement department. We will enforce the nation's immigration laws," Napolitano said.

She wasn't kidding. New statistics obtained by Riptide show an Obama program linking local law agencies to an immigration crackdown has made life difficult for illegals in Miami-Dade.

In January, Miami-Dade and eight other Florida counties joined a handful of others around the nation in a trial run of a new program called "Secure Communities." Whenever anyone is booked into jail, that person's fingerprints are run through a database of illegal aliens with criminal records. If there's a match, the feds are notified.

Since the program began in January, 8,407 illegal aliens have been nabbed. That's one in every seven people booked into jails. Can you say "profiling"?

It's unclear what happened to those people. The federal government says it focuses only on aliens who've been convicted of felonies and violent crimes. Less than 10 percent fell into that category. "We're trying to remove or incarcerate the most dangerous criminal aliens," says Nicole Navas, a Miami spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But the agency has the power to detain anyone — including those 7,620 with less serious records caught so far in Florida. That's a big problem, says Charu al-Sahli, statewide director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. "Whether innocent or guilty, they're going to be run through this system," al-Sahli says. "We all agree with the goal of getting violent criminals off the street, but in practice, we're going to see a lot of people deported over insignificant crimes."

 
  • Anonymous21 02/21/2011 6:52:00 PM

    leticia olalia morales of 15501 pasadena ave #tustin ca 92780 submitted fake documents and paid a consul 5000.00 dollars to obtain a tourist visa. she is now applying for naturalization.

  • kenneth 07/08/2009 5:15:00 AM

    i think this is what we need to do

  • Black Saint 07/02/2009 2:46:00 AM

    Our Politicians keep telling us our Immigration laws are broken and we need an comprehensive solution, which are code words for Amnesty, our Immigration Laws are not broken, they just have not been enforced, what is broken is our Political system when we elect Corrupt/Pandering/Lawless politicians that puts Party, Lobbyist, & Self interest ahead of the Constitution of USA and the Rule of Law! Our government fails the most basic and primary task & duty of government, to protect this Nation and its Citizens from invasion and enforce its laws. They refuse to abide by our Constitution, refuse to enforce our Immigration Laws and refuse to honor their Oath of Office! Our Government, past & present, Republican & Democrat, have allowed the invasion of 20 to 30 million criminals and uneducated peons which is the largest invasion of any Nation, at any time, by any means & in direct violation of Article IV, Section IV of our Constitution. This refusal to abide by our Constitution or enforce our Immigration Laws should be classified as Treason of the most foul kind, & as grounds for impeachment & trials for Treason! Not only have they allowed the invasion, they force American tax payers to pay Billions on Billions of dollars to provide Welfare, Prison cells, Educate the invaders numerous children, and free medical care, at the same time the invading horde break numerous laws and massive document fraud, & are destroying our schools, hospitals, communities, culture and standard of living while Robbing, Raping, Killing & Assaulting American Citizens at an rate the terrorist can only dream about. Recent statements in Mexico from both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary something needs to be done. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers, and civilians," she said. But no mention, concern or care that their refusal to stop the Massive Invasion of Illegal Aliens pouring across our borders or enforce our immigration laws that causes an estimated 25 Americans deaths per day and 10,s of thousands victims of Assault, Robberies, Rapes, Identify thief, and other assorted crimes committed by the invading horde of Illegal Aliens from Mexico on American citizens each year! It is a telling indictment & shows their Empathy & Compassion of our Politicians & their priorities when they express more concern over Mexicans mostly connected to the Drug trade than the murders, havoc & crimes of Illegal Aliens against American Citizens! Most of our Politicians in Wash. DC are wading knee deep in innocent American blood and suffering because they put Self Interest ahead of the interest of American Citizens & the future of this Nation! The Welfare vote for the Democrats to further their Socialist Agenda and the Slave Labor for their Pay Masters in the Chamber of Commerce & Business for the Republicans is more important to our Corrupt power mad Politicians than the lives and safety of Americans citizens! The Citizens of this Nation have not sacrificed with blood, sweat & tears for over 200 years & obeyed the Laws of the land, paid the taxes, and fought the wars & built this Nation to see Corrupt politicians turn this Nation into the United States of Mexico without a shot being fired, to serve their demented, nefarious goals and lust for power!

  • Black Saint 07/02/2009 2:44:00 AM

    Then there is they are all God,s children argument. Isn't everyone God,s children? If so, then guess the open borders crowd are saying everyone and anyone has the right to Invade this Nation, waving their flags, demand their rights, while feasting at the trough of public welfare and Kill, Rape and Rob thousands of American citizens each year! There are 100,s of millions probably billions from India, China, Africa, etc. that would like to immigrate to the USA. If it ok for Latinos to pour across our borders then unless the open borders crowd are racist it should be ok for any and all of the world people no matter their Education, Religion, Race, Criminal convictions, Diseases, or Terrorist ties to invade this nation & be rewarded with American citizenship! There's the "the U.S. stole the southwest" argument. Well, the land in dispute was "owned" by Spain for a couple of centuries. Then by Mexico for about 25 years. During these periods, there weren't more than a few thousand Spaniards or Mexicans in the entire territory. It's been owned by the U.S. for about 160 years now, much longer than Mexico's reign. And the U.S. has actually done something with the land, made it habitable for tens of millions. The difference between American and Mexican "twin cities" straddling the border is like night and day, yet the land is obviously the same. It's not the dirt that's important, it's the people. Put another way, if culture didn't matter, Mexico and Central America would be paradise. There's the "lettuce" argument We'll be paying $50/head if we don't have illegal aliens working in the fields. As Phil Martin, ag economist at UC Davis shows, the field labor cost in a $1 head of lettuce is about 6 cents. Triple those wages and Americans will do the jobs. (They're not career positions. They're seasonal jobs for young people, starting in the world of work. I have did similarly menial jobs.) And you'll be paying 10% more for lettuce and other produce. Do you spend $1,000/year on produce? OK, you'll pay $100 more. The lettuce argument also parallels that for the retention of slavery. Immigrant Argument! There's the "everyone's an immigrant except for the 'Native Americans'" argument. Well, the American Indians didn't sprout from the land, they came across the Bering land bridge from Asia. So if the criterion is "You're an immigrant if you had an ancestor who immigrated here," then American Indians are immigrants, too. In that case, "immigrant" is no longer a useful word, since Everyone's an immigrant. Illegal pay taxes Argument! There's the "illegal aliens pay tons of taxes" argument. Sure, they all pay real estate taxes (in rent) and sales taxes (most states). Those working on the books (typically using stolen Social Security numbers) pay FICA and, perhaps, income taxes. But they're mostly ill-educated, prolific breeders, low-skilled and pay little or no taxes connected to their working -- in fact, most claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, i.e. negative income tax! If a family with both parents working has two kids in school, that's at least $15k/year just for schooling, way more than the taxes on, say, $35k/year aggregate income. Robert Rector at the Heritage Foundation has done the systematic accounting on all this. A typical household headed by a low-skilled illegal alien is a net drain of about $20k/year for the rest of us, year after year. (Low-skilled Americans are a similar burden, but they're part of the national family, not gate crashers from other societies.) Illegal Bad..Amnesty good Argument! There's the "illegal immigration is bad, but make them citizens and problem solved" argument. Nope. If that were the case, legalizing (i.e. amnestying) the illegal aliens would solve the problem. But they'd still be (on average) low-skilled workers whose burden on the rest of us would continue. In fact, once legal they'd be able to access more public benefits programs, so their cost to the rest of us would actually rise substantially. In addition to bringing in their relatives under chain immigration in a never ending chain! In short, all of the problems of mass illegal immigration are shared & increased by mass amnestying them. Then there is the straw man Argument this Nation cannot afford to deport 12 million people! Never noting if our Politicians had abide by our Constitution and enforced our Laws there would not be 12 millions to deport. Even worse, there is not 12 million but between 20 and 30 million but the government prefers to lie and down play the number! ( Same as the 1986 Amnesty was more than double the government estimate, so will this one be) At any rate deportation would save billions in the long run over what they will cost this Nation in welfare in the coming years. Every person with less that a high school education cost a average of 55 thousand over their life time, so apply that times the 12 million plus all their relatives & their relatives in a never ending chain & deportation would be a great bargain and save billions if not trillions in the coming years! But deportations is not necessary, just close our borders and enforcing our Laws with E-Verify. Fine companies, imprison executives and cut out the welfare they will self deport. No jobs, No Welfare equals no Illegal Aliens! The flood of immigrants drives wages and living conditions in our central cities toward those of the Third World & has already destroyed Calif.. This tidal wave imposes sprawl, gridlock, pollution, and environmental damage on our metropolitan areas & Nation. Immigrant families needing services overwhelm our schools, taxpayer-funded health care facilities, and other public agencies. Those requiring services don�t assimilate and, instead, expect to be served in their native languages. American civic culture frays as each ethnic group establishes its own grievance lobby and pushes for preferences. Communicable diseases such as tuberculosis (new, drug-resistant strains) return & New diseases like Mexican Swine flu break out! Shortages of water and other resources loom, especially in immigration-blitzed Southwest. Most that come across our open borders come from countries where, Crime, Corruption, Poverty, Misery, Anti-education, and hate for Americans has existed for centuries and is normal. Should anyone be surprised they bring those same family values across the border with them?

  • Alex 07/02/2009 1:15:00 AM

    This article has a few discrepancies. Let me start with the title. The title of this article is �Can you say "profiling"?� which continues to speak about ICE�s new program called Secure Communities. Secure Communities is a program that incorporates biometric identification( fingerprints) to identify immigration violators. Now, how do you profile a fingerprint? Just ask Tim Elfrink, he seems to know it all, so ask him. Maybe because fingerprints are black! Maybe�. Also Secure Communities is not an Obama administration program. This program was started by Julie Myers, who was the Assistant Secretary for ICE during the Bush administration. Third of all, If someone is in the United States illegally then, they should be removed to their countries. If you think the U.S. Government is so tough, then why don�t you take a vacation to North Korea and enter that country illegally? See if they just give you a ride back home. Well I am happy to correct you, but I am sad to report that I lost a few brain cells while reading your article. Get a real job. That is the problem with the media today. You report your opinions instead of the facts. I�m done with you, as a reporter you are worthless.

  • Joe 07/02/2009 12:50:00 AM

    Deported for insignificant crimes?? So what??? They shouldn't be here in the first place.vpje

  • Joe 07/02/2009 12:49:00 AM

    Deported for insignificant crimes?? So what??? They shouldn't be here in the first place

  • a 07/02/2009 12:10:00 AM

    This country is screwed.

  • zeezil 07/01/2009 4:58:00 PM

    Mr. Charu al-Sahli, you need to get a clue. Since when is willful violation of our border, willful violation of U.S. sovereignty, willful violation of our immigration laws, willful violation of our employment laws, willful violation of identity laws and willful criminal activity by not only entering illegally but remaining and operating here illegally...only "insignifigant crimes"???

  • zeezil 07/01/2009 4:50:00 PM

    Maricopa County, Arizona is the best area in the country for reliable illegal alien crime statistics. The county sheriff, Joe Arpaio, has aggressively decided to combat illegal alien crime in his county. He has partnered with federal ICE through the 287 (g) program which trains local law enforcement personnel in determining and dealing with illegal aliens. He has a well staffed Triple I Unit (Illegal Immigrant Interdiction Unit). The MCAO report from County Attorney Andrew Thomas features these startling numbers for prosecuted felony cases in Maricopa County, Arizona: In 2007, illegal immigrants accounted for: 10% of sex crimes convictions 11% of murders convictions 13% of stolen cars convictions 13% of aggravated assaults convictions 17% of those sentenced for violent crimes 19% of those sentenced for property crimes 20% of those sentenced for felony DUI. 21% of crimes committed with weapons 34% of those sentenced for the manufacture, sale or transport of drugs 36% of those sentenced for kidnapping 44% of forgeries 50% of those sentenced for crimes related to "chop shops" 85% of false ID convictions 96% of smuggling convictions Illegal immigrants make up 19 percent of those convicted of crimes in Maricopa County and 21 percent of those in county jails. Illegal immigrants only make up an estimated 9 percent of the county�s population. It is estimated that each violent crime cost citizens $20,000, and each property crime cost citizens $4363 per offense.

  • Shannon Argueta 07/01/2009 2:43:00 AM

    It is not just violent criminals that they put an immigration hold on. I know three people that were deported for driving without a license. They are tearing families apart. My husband is an immigrant and I am a white American citizen, I fear that he will be deported all the time. Many people say,"oh well he shouldn't be here anyways." but my husband came to this country after war tore his apart. I should be able to love whoever I want without fear of my husband being taken away from me and our son. This is a country was born with immigrants. People forget that so easily. I love my country but I hate the way people treat one another. This country is supposed to be fair and the land of dreams lately it has become the land of ignorance.

  • LadyM 07/01/2009 2:18:00 AM

    If they're in the country illegally they're already criminals. If they commit another crime they're fair game for deportation. If they don't like the rules here they can always go back to where they came from and please take the rest of your illegal friends with you.

  • Estoban 07/01/2009 2:17:00 AM

    Since the program began in January, 8,407 illegal aliens have been nabbed. That's one in every seven people booked into jails. Can you say "profiling"? All criminal records are profiling. They profile criminals, hello!

 
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