by Jim Kouri
On the same day that Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
announced that she will travel to San Francisco and Los Angeles,
Calif., on Friday to meet with technology and business leaders to
discuss the need for commonsense immigration reform, a report was
released on Thursday revealing that hundreds of criminal aliens were
released from detention.
According to officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
hundreds of illegal aliens with criminal records for offenses
committed in the U.S. were secretly released earlier this year with
the rationale that the Obama DHS is preparing to cut ICE's budget,
according to ICE data released on Thursday in the midst of three
scandals that were "sucking up the oxygen."
The ICE data reveals that Secretary Napolitano's claim that the
releases involved detainees who committed non-violent crimes is just
not accurate, said former NYPD detective Manuel Ortega-Sanchez.
According to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ICE released the figures to
him only after officials there were threatened with subpoenas and
other legal action.
According to ICE, 2,226 detainees were released in February and more
than 620 of them had criminal convictions.
A statement from Sen. McCain's and Sen. Carl Levin, D-MI, said that at
lease 32 of illegal aliens released had committed multiple felonies.
McCain reported that ICE agents captured 24 of those released after
realizing the severity of their criminal offenses.
At the time, Homeland Security Department officials said the decision
was made in order to stay within budget. Those detainees released were
still said to face deportation and be under supervision. But
administration officials downplayed the threat they might pose after
leaving the local immigration jails.
In late February, Obama's Press Secretary Jay Carney made a statement
that turns out to be untrue: "As ICE made clear, the agency released
these low-risk, non-criminal detainees under a less expensive form of
monitoring to ensure detention levels stayed within ICE's overall
budget." [Emphasis added]
"Carney has always been truth-challenged in his capacity as President
Obama's mouthpiece. The man should be ashamed of himself," said Det.
Ortega-Sanchez.
The offenses committed by the released criminal aliens includes
driving under the influence, menacing, and vandalism of private
property. Others were convicted of illegal possess of a firearm,
possession of drugs with the intent to sell, burglary, robbery and
grand larceny.
The head of the union representing members of the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement division of the Homeland Security Department on
Thursday stated that immigration enforcement is being run by leaders
of a racist group known as La Raza ("The Race").
According to Chris Crane, the current president of the union for ICE
agents, the National ICE Council, President Barack Obama, Secretary of
Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and ICE Director John Morton have
all but abdicated their leadership in the enforcement of immigration
laws and the protection of U.S. borders and citizens.
In a letter to Congress on May 9, Crane and a number of law
enforcement executives complained that while business groups,
activists, and other special interests were closely involved in the
drafting of the proposed Schumer-Rubio immigration reform bill (S.
744), law enforcement personnel were excluded from those sessions.
"Immigration officers and state and local law enforcement working
directly within the nation's broken immigration system were prohibited
from providing input," the letter from law enforcement stated.
"As a result, the legislation before us may have many satisfactory
components for powerful lobbying groups and other special interests,
but on the subjects of public safety, border security, and interior
enforcement, this legislation fails. It is a dramatic step in the
wrong direction," said Crane and the other law enforcement
contributors to the letter.
For example, ICE officers are currently directed by DHS to allow adult
inmates in jails to lie about their "DREAMer" status in order to avoid
immigration arrest.
As a result, inmates are permitted to simply walk out of jails without
being required to provide proof of eligibility for "DREAMer" status
and without any investigation by ICE. ICE officers report overhearing
inmates coaching one another on how to lie to ICE officers about
having "DREAMer" status to avoid arrest, yet ICE officers are still
powerless to arrest them, complains Crane.
The law enforcement officials involved in Crane's quest for protection
of Americans from foreign criminals say they believe these revelations
should alarm every member of Congress, and indeed, every American.
Jim Kouri, CPP, is founder and CEO of Kouri Associates, a homeland
security, public safety and political consulting firm. He's formerly
Fifth Vice-President, now a Board Member of the National Association
of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, a columnist
for Examiner.com, a contributor to KGAB radio news, and news director
for NewswithViews.com.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington
Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in
the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at St.
Peter's University and director of security for several major
organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and
trained police and security officers throughout the country.
In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio
affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com) and editor of Conservative Base Magazine
(www.conservativebase.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for
Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He holds a bachelor of science in Criminal Justice from Southwest
University and SCI Technical School in New York City and completed
training at the NYC Police Academy, FBI Continuing Education Program,
and the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) of the American
Society for Industrial Security.
Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and
radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah,
McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
