Illegal immigration cases being dismissed by the hundreds

[peejay 327]

Immigration cases being tossed by the hundreds

Docket review pulls curtain back on procedure by Homeland Security

By SUSAN CARROLL

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Oct. 16, 2010, 2:43PM

In the month after Homeland Security officials started a review of Houston's immigration court docket, immigration judges dismissed more than 200 cases, an increase of more than 700 percent from the prior month, new data shows.

The number of dismissals in Houston courts reached 217 in August — up from just 27 in July, according to data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which administers the nation's immigration court system.

In September, judges dismissed 174 pending cases — the vast majority involving immigrants who already were out on bond and had cases pending on Houston's crowded downtown court docket, where hearings are now being scheduled into 2012.

Roughly 45 percent of the 350 cases decided in that court in September resulted in dismissals, the records show.

The EOIR data offer the first glimpse into Homeland Security's largely secretive review of pending cases on the local immigration court docket.

In early August, federal attorneys in Houston started filing unsolicited motions to dismiss cases involving suspected illegal immigrants who have lived in the country for years without committing serious crimes.

News of the dismissals, first reported in the Houston Chronicle in late August, caused a national controversy amid allegations that the Obama administration was implementing a kind of "backdoor amnesty" — a charge officials strongly denied.

In recent weeks, some immigration attorneys reported the dismissals have slowed somewhat, while others reported they now have to ask ICE trial attorneys to exercise prosecutorial discretion in order to have their cases dismissed. Others, however, said they are still being approached by government attorneys seeking to file joint motions for case dismissal.

"They're still doing it," said immigration attorney Steve Villarreal. "They're just doing it quietly."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials declined this week to discuss specifics of the docket reviews and dismissals, which are also going on in several other cities, including Dallas and Miami.

In response to the Houston EOIR data, ICE spokeswoman Gillian Brigham noted that immigration judges can terminate cases for other than prosecutorial discretion, such as when ICE does not meet its burden of proof. The Houston immigration courts averaged about 38 case terminations each month in the 10 months prior to the DHS review.

Broad set of criteria

ICE has tried to downplay the docket reviews, suggesting in some media accounts that they were limited to cases involving illegal immigrants with pending petitions filed by U.S. citizen relatives.

However, EOIR's liaison with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Raed Gonzalez, said he was briefed on the guidelines in August directly by DHS' deputy chief counsel in Houston and described a broader set of internal criteria.

Government attorneys in Houston were instructed to exercise prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis for illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for at least two years and have no serious criminal history, Gonzalez said. To qualify for dismissal, defendants also must have no felony record or any misdemeanor convictions involving DWI, sex crimes or domestic violence, he said.

Several dismissed cases examined by the Chronicle involved defendants without U.S. citizen relatives but with arguments for dismissal on humanitarian grounds, such as illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who have stayed out of trouble and are enrolled in college.

Supporters of the review called it a necessary, common-sense step to reduce the system's staggering backlog, which hit an all-time high this year. In June, the number of pending immigration cases nationally reached 247,922, including 7,444 in Houston.

By moving to dismiss cases for people who have stayed out of trouble, the agency will be better able to use its limited resources to more rapidly deport those with serious criminal records, supporters said.

"It makes all of the sense in the world," John Nechman, a Houston immigration attorney, said of the review, which has led the dismissals of cases for several of his clients.

Dismissed, but still illegal

The dismissals essentially mean that officials are no longer actively trying to remove defendants through the immigration court system, though they can refile such charges at a later date.

The dismissals do not convey any kind of legal status, so recipients remain illegal immigrants and cannot work legally in the U.S.

But critics still charge that the dismissals show the government is not enforcing the law.

"When you have this kind of mass dismissal, it sends a very clear message to illegal immigrants, and to society at large, that the government is not serious about enforcing the laws," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, an organization that advocates for stricter border controls.

"This type of action muddles the message so both the public at large as well as illegal immigrants don't know what to think."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7249505.html

[Heracles 417]

What the hell is wrong with you? There are plenty of jobs to go around for all, yep the entire world, in the US. The level of opportunities and the standard of living could not be better for Americans. As an example, my 401K jumped 400% this year alone.

You really need to get help over your Xenophobia.

Edited October 17, 2010 by Heracles

[Used to be broken 148]

Immigration cases being tossed by the hundreds

Docket review pulls curtain back on procedure by Homeland Security

By SUSAN CARROLL

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Oct. 16, 2010, 2:43PM

In the month after Homeland Security officials started a review of Houston's immigration court docket, immigration judges dismissed more than 200 cases, an increase of more than 700 percent from the prior month, new data shows.

....................

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7249505.html

So I see you footnote in the signature line PJ, but what comes to my mind is the system is hardly "credible" when the docket doesn't ever actually resolve any cases.

It makes sense to dismiss cases for aliens with pending relative petitions to clear the way for the prosecution and deportation of those with criminal issues. While you are holding up criminal cases with administrative cases you are also paying room and board for the criminals who could be less expensively housed back in home country and not at US taxpayer expense.

[Danno 1,228]

So I see you footnote in the signature line PJ, but what comes to my mind is the system is hardly "credible" when the docket doesn't ever actually resolve any cases.

It makes sense to dismiss cases for aliens with pending relative petitions to clear the way for the prosecution and deportation of those with criminal issues. While you are holding up criminal cases with administrative cases you are also paying room and board for the criminals who could be less expensively housed back in home country and not at US taxpayer expense.

Well you make somewhat of a point but.... what is to stop the deported criminal...... (after we have paid all this money to deport him) from turning around and coming right back.... in fact, why wouldn't he?

[Used to be broken 148]

Well you make somewhat of a point but.... what is to stop the deported criminal...... (after we have paid all this money to deport him) from turning around and coming right back.... in fact, why wouldn't he?

there certainly is some risk there. However we have agreements with some countries that place them in jail in the foreign country, and if we can build factories in Mexico we can most certainly build jails there and it still would be cheaper to house than than in US where it costs between 85-119 dollars a day to house them.

Many are wanted in their own countries and fled prosecution there. I would much rather a hardened criminal be housed in crappy foreign jail than cushy US jail. (speaking only of criminal aliens)

Also Deportation is a fraction of the cost of detention for US Taxpayers, even for non-criminal aliens in detention on so many different levels it boggles the mind.

But that was not the point I was getting at. If the docket is so filled with administrative cases where there is a potential benefit to a non-criminal alien married to or child of a US Citizen with no criminal record, dismissing the cases serves a useful purpose in allowing the court to deal with criminal aliens with the added benefit of reducing future caseload in other Immigration appeals courts and proceedings.

Edited October 17, 2010 by brokenfamily

[TBoneTX 47,499]

It would be interesting if the U.S. could strike a deal with a third country, far away from anyplace where illegal re-entry could occur, perhaps in Africa (Niger, or another poor country). We deport our illegals there, and they have to fend for themselves (disarmed and with a language barrier), si man.

[Used to be broken 148]

It would be interesting if the U.S. could strike a deal with a third country, far away from anyplace where illegal re-entry could occur, perhaps in Africa (Niger, or another poor country). We deport our illegals there, and they have to fend for themselves (disarmed and with a language barrier), si man.

I think it would be extreme for non-criminal aliens, but have often thought this would be a good program for our prisons systems in general. Prisoners learn how to be better criminals in jail. If you put them in a harsh or hostile environmental condition in a foreign country where crazy ideas of escape seemed futile and they were reduced to survival mode to provide for themselves or work on a third world country road building effort or some such project it might produce a better outcome in terms of rehabilitation and recidivism. It would certainly reduce violence against other criminals because they wouldn't have time to fight each other if they are fighting the elements and forced to plant and tender livestock to survive.

If you thought you had it bad on the streets of Chicago just because the man was keeping you down, try Ethiopia!

But on the other hand, the Mexicans might benefit the Ethiopians.. at least they would have more restaraunt options.

Edited October 17, 2010 by brokenfamily

[peejay 327]

So I see you footnote in the signature line PJ, but what comes to my mind is the system is hardly "credible" when the docket doesn't ever actually resolve any cases.

It makes sense to dismiss cases for aliens with pending relative petitions to clear the way for the prosecution and deportation of those with criminal issues. While you are holding up criminal cases with administrative cases you are also paying room and board for the criminals who could be less expensively housed back in home country and not at US taxpayer expense.

The system is hardly "credible" when illegal aliens are allowed to stay in the USA and continue to work illegally. Using stolen identities and committing fraud is criminal. It sends the wrong message to the world that the USA is not serious about enforcing its immigration and work authorization laws. It encourages even more illegal immigration and aforementioned criminal activity.

Obama has no qualms about spending money on everything else but enforcing immigration and work authorization laws. Dump this idiot and hire someone that will work in the interests of the American people instead of the interests his undocumented Democreats (aka: illegal aliens). The American people are sick and tired of this joke.

[Danno 1,228]

there certainly is some risk there. However we have agreements with some countries that place them in jail in the foreign country, and if we can build factories in Mexico we can most certainly build jails there and it still would be cheaper to house than than in US where it costs between 85-119 dollars a day to house them.

Many are wanted in their own countries and fled prosecution there. I would much rather a hardened criminal be housed in crappy foreign jail than cushy US jail. (speaking only of criminal aliens)

Also Deportation is a fraction of the cost of detention for US Taxpayers, even for non-criminal aliens in detention on so many different levels it boggles the mind.

But that was not the point I was getting at. If the docket is so filled with administrative cases where there is a potential benefit to a non-criminal alien married to or child of a US Citizen with no criminal record, dismissing the cases serves a useful purpose in allowing the court to deal with criminal aliens with the added benefit of reducing future caseload in other Immigration appeals courts and proceedings.

Bottom line once we get past all the utopian dreams is: We let lesser criminals go to speed up the release of more serious criminals ..... which turn right back around and reenter our country.

I have no interest in speeding up their deportation as this is the only punishment they will receive for their crimes... and it delays the the opportunity of committing new crimes.

I'm trying to see how wins in this current situation..

[spookyturtle 9,466]

The Republicans haven't done squat about illegal immigration either. Neither party is going to solve the party at its source, American business owners.

[Used to be broken 148]

Bottom line once we get past all the utopian dreams is: We let lesser criminals go to speed up the release of more serious criminals ..... which turn right back around and reenter our country.

I have no interest in speeding up their deportation as this is the only punishment they will receive for their crimes... and it delays the the opportunity of committing new crimes.

I'm trying to see how wins in this current situation..

Well one IJ judge was quoted as saying, "dealing with Immigration Crimes in criminal court is like handling death penalty cases in traffic court"

Or in other words there is no proportionality in Immigration proceedings which is what contributes to the problems in the court dockets and in the filing of extensive and multiple petitions for benefits which also cloggs the system and costs money.

In the effort to "crack down" on illegal immigrants all we have done is crack down on taxpayers.

Think about it, if the penalty for speeding was permanent loss of license/imprisonment... less people would pay the fine and the traffic court docket would be ridiculous because because the stakes have risen so high. If you can't drive you cannot earn an income, you lose your house, job ability to support family..and on it goes. The family ends up destitute and on public assistance loses health benefits and the spiral of costs the taxpayer by 'cracking down on speeding" .

This is exactly what we do in Immigration proceedings, dole out the same punishment to a guy who is a "lesser criminal" ..deportation and loss of future immigration benefits when connected to a US Citizen.. as we do to a "hardened violent or sex offender". So when you make the stakes so high for the lesser criminal, they stay on the docket and fight the case. And when connected to a US Citizen spouse or children when we undermine the ability of an undocumented worker to support his family, the taxpayer gets the backlash once again. A fine bases system would be a much better way to go for non-criminal aliens.

their deportation as this is the only punishment they will receive for their crimes

Not sure where you got the notion criminal defendants didn't pay for their crimes ? In the current scheme of things ICE gets notified of the criminal at the end of his sentence and goes and picks them up and puts them in detention and then begins Immigration proceedings against them. In many cases like I said they are wanted in their own countries so at the end of proceedings they are turned over to custody of home country for punishment. If they aren't yes if fact there is a risk of re-entry but in the case of criminal aliens they face incarceration again if they enter EWI after deportation.

If we restore proportionality to our system in Immigration law it will go a long way towards curing one aspect of our Immigration system, not the least of which is the expense of it. A fine based system for non-criminal undocumented workers (and duh a supply of unskilled worker visa's that match up with the demand for this type of labor) is a more thoughtful and workable solution than the knee-jerk "enforcement only" approach which sounds good on paper but causes more problems than it solves.

[Used to be broken 148]

Obama has no qualms about spending money on everything else but enforcing immigration and work authorization laws. Dump this idiot and hire someone that will work in the interests of the American people instead of the interests his undocumented Democreats (aka: illegal aliens). The American people are sick and tired of this joke.

Well if your statement were true that would be a good jumping off point for a discussion, but reality flies in the face of your contention. Current administration has committed more capital and resources to Immigration Enforcement than ANY previous administration Democrat or Republican. They have also broken the record on criminal deportations which is pretty impressive given the number of total entries is significantly down and self deportations are up due to the economic climate.

They have increased number of agents at the border, added national guard, stepped up prosecutions and instituted 287(g) agreements across the county and made significant progress on E-verifyand begun a strike at the heart of the source "employers" by instituting an aggressive audit of employer records. They have upped the number of detention facilities, expanded the ICE role significantly and just went to congress to get more money for it.

So don't know what the basis of your belief is on this situation but it certainly doesn't line up with the numbers

US deports record 392,000

WASHINGTON - THE United States deported a record 392,000 illegal immigrants over the past year, nearly half of them people with criminal convictions, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Wednesday.

The number deported during the 2010 fiscal year ending September 30 surpassed the record of 389,000 deportations set the previous year. More than 195,000 of those deported were convicted criminals, according to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

'This administration has focused on enforcing our immigration laws in a smart, effective manner that prioritizes public safety and national security and holds employers accountable who knowingly and repeatedly break the law,' Ms Napolitano said.

Edited October 17, 2010 by brokenfamily

[peejay 327]

Well if your statement were true that would be a good jumping off point for a discussion, but reality flies in the face of your contention. Current administration has committed more capital and resources to Immigration Enforcement than ANY previous administration Democrat or Republican. They have also broken the record on criminal deportations which is pretty impressive given the number of total entries is significantly down and self deportations are up due to the economic climate.

They have increased number of agents at the border, added national guard, stepped up prosecutions and instituted 287(g) agreements across the county and made significant progress on E-verifyand begun a strike at the heart of the source "employers" by instituting an aggressive audit of employer records. They have upped the number of detention facilities, expanded the ICE role significantly and just went to congress to get more money for it.

So don't know what the basis of your belief is on this situation but it certainly doesn't line up with the numbers

US deports record 392,000

WASHINGTON - THE United States deported a record 392,000 illegal immigrants over the past year, nearly half of them people with criminal convictions, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Wednesday.

The number deported during the 2010 fiscal year ending September 30 surpassed the record of 389,000 deportations set the previous year. More than 195,000 of those deported were convicted criminals, according to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

'This administration has focused on enforcing our immigration laws in a smart, effective manner that prioritizes public safety and national security and holds employers accountable who knowingly and repeatedly break the law,' Ms Napolitano said.

FAIR: DHS Misleads Public with Partial Truth of Increased Enforcement

Criminal Alien Removals Up/Non-Criminal Alien Removals Down/Overall Removals Flat

(Washington, D.C. October 7, 2010) Yesterday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano released the FY 2010 immigration deportation numbers claiming that "it’s been another record-breaking year of record criminal alien removals." Yet, Secretary Napolitano neglects to mention that while deportation of criminal aliens has risen, the total removals are roughly the same, and the number of non-criminal aliens removed has dropped substantially.

Responding to the new report, Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR,) noted, "It is nice to hear that Secretary Janet Napolitano believes that the removal of people in the country illegally especially those who have committed violent crimes — is an important function for DHS. However, policy directives from the highest levels of DHS clearly demonstrate that the administration is refusing to enforce laws against noncriminal aliens."

Removing violent and criminal aliens from American society must obviously be DHS’s highest immigration enforcement priority. However, while DHS has acted to remove criminal aliens already in custody, they have adopted policies to assure all non-criminal aliens in the country face no threat of removal

"Secretary Napolitano is giving herself and DHS a big pat on the back for stepping up enforcement without mentioning that the department is merely completing cases initiated under the previous administration, under policies that she and President Obama have aggressively dismantled since taking office," observed Stein. Some 58,000 fewer noncriminal aliens were deported in FY 2010 over the previous year.

DHS data show that the current administration has dramatically curtailed all aspects of immigration enforcement against illegal aliens who have not committed violent crimes in this country. In the critical area of worksite enforcement, administrative arrests have fallen by 77 percent, criminal arrests are down 60 percent, indictments are down 64 percent, and convictions have fallen by 68 percent since 2008.

"Once the pipeline opened under the Bush administration has been emptied, removal of illegal aliens who are not violent criminals will be reduced to a trickle," Stein said. "Resources appropriated by Congress intended to carry out worksite and other enforcement in the interior of the country are being used for meaningless paperwork audits, rather than serious enforcement against employers and the removal of illegal aliens from jobs that are desperately needed by American workers.

"It appears that the release of the FY 2010 data, and Secretary Napolitano’s media tour, have more to do with addressing what the administration perceives as a political weakness heading into the midterm elections, than a sincere effort to deter and combat illegal immigration," said Stein. "The goal is to convince the American people that immigration enforcement is being dealt with so that the administration can move on to its real policy objective: massive amnesty for every illegal alien who is not a violent felon.

"Getting criminal aliens out of the country is important. But the American people also believe that it is important to enforce laws against other illegal aliens who are filling millions of needed jobs and consuming billions in public resources. The administration is defiantly neglecting those responsibilities, while misleading the public by taking credit for the results of policies they are now dismantling," Stein concluded.

http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=23607&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1741

[Used to be broken 148]

FAIR: DHS Misleads Public with Partial Truth of Increased Enforcement

Criminal Alien Removals Up/Non-Criminal Alien Removals Down/Overall Removals Flat

(Washington, D.C. October 7, 2010) Yesterday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano released the FY 2010 immigration deportation numbers claiming that "it’s been another record-breaking year of record criminal alien removals." Yet, Secretary Napolitano neglects to mention that while deportation of criminal aliens has risen, the total removals are roughly the same, and the number of non-criminal aliens removed has dropped substantially.

* and the total number of aliens left to deport has declined and the total number of thwarted entries has increased and the total number of entries has declined and the total number of 'self deports" had increased...

Responding to the new report, Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR,) noted, "It is nice to hear that Secretary Janet Napolitano believes that the removal of people in the country illegally especially those who have committed violent crimes — is an important function for DHS. However, policy directives from the highest levels of DHS clearly demonstrate that the administration is refusing to enforce laws against noncriminal aliens."

SPIN SPIN SPIN.. what policy directive "clearly demonstrates the administration is "REFUSING" to enforce laws against non-criminal aliens?

Removing violent and criminal aliens from American society must obviously be DHS’s highest immigration enforcement priority. However, while DHS has acted to remove criminal aliens already in custody, they have adopted policies to assure all non-criminal aliens in the country face no threat of removal

MORE SPIN There is no evidence of that see your lead in paragraph of your own article. non-criminal deportations may be down over previous year.. if they actually are... see no numbers to compare here. but they are not non-existant.

"Secretary Napolitano is giving herself and DHS a big pat on the back for stepping up enforcement without mentioning that the department is merely completing cases initiated under the previous administration, under policies that she and President Obama have aggressively dismantled since taking office," observed Stein. Some 58,000 fewer noncriminal aliens were deported in FY 2010 over the previous year.

Fewer non-criminal because instead of going after the low hanging fruit like the Bush administration was to get the "numbers up".. raiding chicken plants, the new administration actually went after CRIMINALS.. its easy to round everyone up at a factory and not get shot at.. little harder to find criminals...and a lot riskier as well... Bush did it the cop in the donut shop method, nobody gets hurt especially ICE agents... Also if the earlier contention in the article is true, that the "leftover" detainees are from the Bush administration, why would they need to open new detention facilities, increase spending and open new ICE offices?

DHS data show that the current administration has dramatically curtailed all aspects of immigration enforcement against illegal aliens who have not committed violent crimes in this country. In the critical area of worksite enforcement, administrative arrests have fallen by 77 percent, criminal arrests are down 60 percent, indictments are down 64 percent, and convictions have fallen by 68 percent since 2008.

Work site enforcement under the Bush administration was also directed at the Immigrants, their families and communities .. it was crazy expensive involved helicopters to raid a chicken plant.. not sure what that was all about and ended up with a boat load of lawsuits that cost the government even more and put a strain on communities and social support services.. New administration is focusing on the 'source" employers , but how politically incorrect for this to happen ? Wouldn't want factory owners locked up, FAIR thinks it looks better on news to lock up immigrants who were recruited to come here by factory owners

"Once the pipeline opened under the Bush administration has been emptied, removal of illegal aliens who are not violent criminals will be reduced to a trickle," Stein said. "Resources appropriated by Congress intended to carry out worksite and other enforcement in the interior of the country are being used for meaningless paperwork audits, rather than serious enforcement against employers and the removal of illegal aliens from jobs that are desperately needed by American workers.

More SPIN Emotional appeal not buying it... no evidence to support this.

"It appears that the release of the FY 2010 data, and Secretary Napolitano’s media tour, have more to do with addressing what the administration perceives as a political weakness heading into the midterm elections, than a sincere effort to deter and combat illegal immigration," said Stein. "The goal is to convince the American people that immigration enforcement is being dealt with so that the administration can move on to its real policy objective: massive amnesty for every illegal alien who is not a violent felon.

What bill has the administration pushed on this?

"Getting criminal aliens out of the country is important. But the American people also believe that it is important to enforce laws against other illegal aliens who are filling millions of needed jobs and consuming billions in public resources. The administration is defiantly neglecting those responsibilities, while misleading the public by taking credit for the results of policies they are now dismantling," Stein concluded.

But FAIR is perfectly fine with spending billions in public resources on enforcement ..and regarding jobs.. when we were at the peak of the economic boom, the unemployment rate was at its lowest point ever.. at the same time we had the highest number of illegal aliens in the country ever... so is it fair to say kicking out the illegal aliens is what tanked the economy?

http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=23607&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1741

[Danno 1,228]

I Would guess Obamas logic is: If we can get the number of criminals out first, there will be less of an opposition to the remaining ones who.. I think most people would agree are here either to just work or to milk the system. (or a combination of both.)

In my view, there can be no conversation whatsoever about a Pathway to citizenship as long as we do not have a very secure border. In fact it is beyond silly that we even pretend we are solving anything by doing so.

The very first thing one does at the scene of the crime is secure the property so no farther crimes take place.

This would be akin to the Jeweler who has been burglarized, restocking his store while the windows are still broken and wide open.