“Operation Scheduled Departure” = Failure

Recently we wondered if the U.S. immigration “self-deport” plan entitled “Operation Scheduled Departure” was turning into “Mission: Impossible.” According to the Houston Chronicle the answer is an emphatic “yes”:

In the weeks since Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Julie Myers revealed in a TV interview that officials were planning to offer a new "self-deportation" program, the story has been picked up by media outlets worldwide.

ICE paid for newspaper and radio ads in test cities, trying to entice the estimated 457,000 fugitive immigrants in the U.S. to turn themselves in with promises they could "avoid detention" and "manage your own return." Since the program's launch Aug. 5, Operation Scheduled Departure has attracted a half-dozen participants.

Yes, six. – [ed. emphasis ours]

Jim Hayes- acting director of detention and removal office at ICE- tried to spin this by saying that there’s “an indication there is at least some interest.” But how can one justify a pilot program with such a terribly low number of participants? Do such a minuscule number of applicants justify spending $50,000 on ads and many hours of ICE man-power better served elsewhere? Why are officials and politicos so content with sticking their heads in the sand and avoid much needed immigration reform?

Let’s put it this way: what does it tell you when Lou Dobbs and immigrants rights groups can actually agree that your idea is rubbish?

Image- FOXNews.com (“Aug 5: A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office advertises Operation Scheduled Departure in Santa Ana, Calif.”)

Sources- Associated Content, Guardian UK, New York Times, The Latin Americanist, AlterNet, Houston Chronicle