Some illegal migrants get free pass
Deportation complications force release of non-Mexicans
USA TODAY
February 2, 2004
FLORENCE, Ariz. -- Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly from Central and South America, are being released into the United States almost immediately after they are picked up by the Border Patrol as part of a policy that U.S. officials acknowledge represents a significant gap in homeland security.
U.S. Border Patrol agents continue to catch and deport waves of illegal immigrants from Mexico, who last year accounted for most of the 905,000 illegal aliens caught sneaking into the United States along the 2,000-mile Southwestern border.
But deporting illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico -- known here as "OTMs" -- is far more complicated than a quick bus ride south. Several Central and South American governments have been reluctant to accept large groups of people for repatriation. And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, while spending billions of dollars on a range of anti-terrorist programs, has a limited budget for renting detention cells at local jails.
The result: With no place to put thousands of captured illegals from Central and South America, the Border Patrol has begun releasing them after giving them written orders to appear at deportation hearings in nearby U.S. cities. Immigration officials acknowledge that the exercise likely is futile: About 86 percent of those issued such notices never show up for the court hearings.
In a procedure that has been ridiculed by local law enforcement officials and even some Border Patrol agents, the agents are told to make sure that illegals provide U.S. addresses and contact telephone numbers before they are released. The information is supposed to be included on copies of the immigration court notices.
But local law enforcement officials who have reviewed dozens of the notices say that many illegals provide false addresses or none at all. That leaves U.S. authorities with few clues about where to look for the illegals if they fail to appear in court.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says that in 2003, as many as 6,000 illegals entered the United States under the government’s "catch and release" policy. Officials in U.S. border towns and other critics say the policy threatens local residents’ safety and undermines security along the Southwestern border at a time when counterterrorism officials believe al-Qaida operatives could be focusing on Mexico as an entry point to the United States.
"The Border Patrol is admitting to me that they don’t have a clue about who these people really are or what kind of threat they might pose," says D’Wayne Jernigan, the sheriff in Val Verde County, Texas.
The "catch and release" policy has existed for several years but has become particularly evident since the Sept. 11 attacks, which led U.S. officials to tighten border security. The policy has frustrated some border agents, who are encountering waves of illegal immigrants from Central and South America.
The illegals have heard that despite the increased security, they are likely to have little trouble getting into the United States even if they are picked up by border patrols.
In recent months, immigration officials have been monitoring a flood of Brazilians into Arizona. Carrying passports and other identification documents, many of the Brazilians have intentionally surrendered to U.S. agents so they could quickly get notices to appear in court -- and then move on to Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and communities in New Jersey.
David Venturella, assistant director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, acknowledges that the "catch and release" policy has raised security concerns and even angered federal agents. He says the policy is driven by the lack of federal money to rent space in local jails to detain illegal aliens. The U.S. government pays localities about $54 a day to house each detainee, and in January housed more than 22,600 illegal aliens -- above its budgeted capacity of 19,444.
Venturella, who oversees the detention and removal of illegals, says that Homeland Security officials are asking Congress to boost the government’s $680 million budget for detaining and deporting illegal immigrants. The budget has been static for two years.
He says that illegals are run through basic background checks before they are released. They are fingerprinted and their names are checked against government databases of known criminals.
"Is that enough?" Venturella asks. "Probably not."
Dora Alcala, the mayor of Del Rio, Texas, agrees. Two weeks ago, unable to continue paying for the detentions of 76 illegal aliens from Central America, the Border Patrol directed Sheriff Jernigan to take all of them to the Del Rio bus station. There, many of them caught buses to continue their journeys to Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
There are so many illegal aliens streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border, and so few places to put them, that many captured illegals are in custody only a couple of hours before they are released into the United States, says T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council.
"Agents are hired thinking that they are going to be law enforcement officers, only to find out that once they capture these law breakers, we’re just letting them go," Bonner says. "Many (agents) are wondering if they really want to put their lives on the line if we’re just gonna let (illegals) go."
Venturella says that besides seeking more money in 2005 for detaining and deporting illegal immigrants, Homeland Security officials are testing several programs aimed at easing the detention crunch -- and their reliance on the "catch and release" policy.
Last summer, immigration and customs officials began attaching electronic monitoring bracelets to illegal aliens that the government no longer could afford to detain in Anchorage, Detroit, Miami and Seattle.
So far, nearly all of the illegals who have worn the devices have shown up for immigration court hearings. The monitoring program is scheduled to expand to eight more cities this year.
If successful, Venturella says, it could help clear detention space and more effectively manage those who have been released after agreeing to appear in court. Still, the monitoring plan does allow illegals to wander in the United States after they have been caught and released by U.S. agents.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement also has formed a special fugitive unit to pursue the more than 400,000 people who have failed to appear for deportation hearings. Venturella says the agency believes it can wipe out the backlog in five years.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Brazilian authorities have reached an agreement that they expect to result in the repatriation of about 1,000 Brazilians who are being held in detention facilities. Under the agreement, about 200 Brazilians were flown to Rio de Janeiro last week.
Deportation complications force release of non-Mexicans
USA TODAY
February 2, 2004
FLORENCE, Ariz. -- Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly from Central and South America, are being released into the United States almost immediately after they are picked up by the Border Patrol as part of a policy that U.S. officials acknowledge represents a significant gap in homeland security.
U.S. Border Patrol agents continue to catch and deport waves of illegal immigrants from Mexico, who last year accounted for most of the 905,000 illegal aliens caught sneaking into the United States along the 2,000-mile Southwestern border.
But deporting illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico -- known here as "OTMs" -- is far more complicated than a quick bus ride south. Several Central and South American governments have been reluctant to accept large groups of people for repatriation. And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, while spending billions of dollars on a range of anti-terrorist programs, has a limited budget for renting detention cells at local jails.
The result: With no place to put thousands of captured illegals from Central and South America, the Border Patrol has begun releasing them after giving them written orders to appear at deportation hearings in nearby U.S. cities. Immigration officials acknowledge that the exercise likely is futile: About 86 percent of those issued such notices never show up for the court hearings.
In a procedure that has been ridiculed by local law enforcement officials and even some Border Patrol agents, the agents are told to make sure that illegals provide U.S. addresses and contact telephone numbers before they are released. The information is supposed to be included on copies of the immigration court notices.
But local law enforcement officials who have reviewed dozens of the notices say that many illegals provide false addresses or none at all. That leaves U.S. authorities with few clues about where to look for the illegals if they fail to appear in court.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says that in 2003, as many as 6,000 illegals entered the United States under the government’s "catch and release" policy. Officials in U.S. border towns and other critics say the policy threatens local residents’ safety and undermines security along the Southwestern border at a time when counterterrorism officials believe al-Qaida operatives could be focusing on Mexico as an entry point to the United States.
"The Border Patrol is admitting to me that they don’t have a clue about who these people really are or what kind of threat they might pose," says D’Wayne Jernigan, the sheriff in Val Verde County, Texas.
The "catch and release" policy has existed for several years but has become particularly evident since the Sept. 11 attacks, which led U.S. officials to tighten border security. The policy has frustrated some border agents, who are encountering waves of illegal immigrants from Central and South America.
The illegals have heard that despite the increased security, they are likely to have little trouble getting into the United States even if they are picked up by border patrols.
In recent months, immigration officials have been monitoring a flood of Brazilians into Arizona. Carrying passports and other identification documents, many of the Brazilians have intentionally surrendered to U.S. agents so they could quickly get notices to appear in court -- and then move on to Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and communities in New Jersey.
David Venturella, assistant director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, acknowledges that the "catch and release" policy has raised security concerns and even angered federal agents. He says the policy is driven by the lack of federal money to rent space in local jails to detain illegal aliens. The U.S. government pays localities about $54 a day to house each detainee, and in January housed more than 22,600 illegal aliens -- above its budgeted capacity of 19,444.
Venturella, who oversees the detention and removal of illegals, says that Homeland Security officials are asking Congress to boost the government’s $680 million budget for detaining and deporting illegal immigrants. The budget has been static for two years.
He says that illegals are run through basic background checks before they are released. They are fingerprinted and their names are checked against government databases of known criminals.
"Is that enough?" Venturella asks. "Probably not."
Dora Alcala, the mayor of Del Rio, Texas, agrees. Two weeks ago, unable to continue paying for the detentions of 76 illegal aliens from Central America, the Border Patrol directed Sheriff Jernigan to take all of them to the Del Rio bus station. There, many of them caught buses to continue their journeys to Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
There are so many illegal aliens streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border, and so few places to put them, that many captured illegals are in custody only a couple of hours before they are released into the United States, says T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council.
"Agents are hired thinking that they are going to be law enforcement officers, only to find out that once they capture these law breakers, we’re just letting them go," Bonner says. "Many (agents) are wondering if they really want to put their lives on the line if we’re just gonna let (illegals) go."
Venturella says that besides seeking more money in 2005 for detaining and deporting illegal immigrants, Homeland Security officials are testing several programs aimed at easing the detention crunch -- and their reliance on the "catch and release" policy.
Last summer, immigration and customs officials began attaching electronic monitoring bracelets to illegal aliens that the government no longer could afford to detain in Anchorage, Detroit, Miami and Seattle.
So far, nearly all of the illegals who have worn the devices have shown up for immigration court hearings. The monitoring program is scheduled to expand to eight more cities this year.
If successful, Venturella says, it could help clear detention space and more effectively manage those who have been released after agreeing to appear in court. Still, the monitoring plan does allow illegals to wander in the United States after they have been caught and released by U.S. agents.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement also has formed a special fugitive unit to pursue the more than 400,000 people who have failed to appear for deportation hearings. Venturella says the agency believes it can wipe out the backlog in five years.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Brazilian authorities have reached an agreement that they expect to result in the repatriation of about 1,000 Brazilians who are being held in detention facilities. Under the agreement, about 200 Brazilians were flown to Rio de Janeiro last week.
