Napolitano underlines immigration changes

With the Obama administration facing growing criticism over its lax approach to immigration, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tried to assure that the White House hasn’t ignored immigration.

While speaking at an El Paso conference of law enforcement chiefs, Napolitano (image) tried to differentiate Obama’s approach to immigration from that of his predecessor. She claimed that the Obama administration was taking “a common-sense, comprehensive look” at immigration policy including changes to the controversial 287 (g) program that deputizes police as immigration agents. She also emphasized the need for a bilateral approach with Mexico to tackle immigration and combat drug-related violence including spending an additional $30 million “to support security measures” along the border.

Napolitano’s claimed policy changes have been insufficient to those on both sides of the immigration debate. Take the 287 (g) program:

"If I'm told not to enforce immigration law except if the alien is a violent criminal, my answer to that is we are still going to do the same thing, 287g or not," Joe Arpaio, an Arizona sheriff, told The Wall Street Journal last month.

Some Hispanic advocacy groups say that 287g still gives police too much power, essentially giving them a green light to racially profile.

Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, said she had hoped the Obama administration would do away with 287g altogether.

It may be understandable that Obama doesn’t wish to make any major changes since immigration is such a hot-button issue. Yet there’s a big need for reform and the baby steps listed by Napolitano are far from enough.

Image- AFP
Online Sources- Department of Homeland Security, Christian Science Monitor, The Latin Americanist, Washington Post

GAO: Deputizing police for ICE doesn’t work

The intended targets: serious criminals such as drug smugglers.

Those who are arrested: usually minor offenders for crimes like loitering and public urination.

A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the deputizing of local law enforcement officers to serve as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has been mostly a failure.

Aside from mostly targeting minor infractions as described above, the GAO study also found that officers “misuse(d) their authority” due to a lack of federal supervision under the program known as 287(g).

The 287(g) program has been employed by numerous local agencies nationwide. The most notable example being by controversial Arizonan sheriff Joe Arpaio who recently paraded illegal immigrants in striped suits and chains in front of the media.

The GAO report comes in anticipation of a House committee hearing later today on suspected racial profiling in federal immigration policy:

Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, which will hold the hearing on Wednesday, said in a statement that “the record is incomplete, at best, as to whether this program is a success.”

“Without objective data, we cannot evaluate the effectiveness of this program, nor can we determine whether better results could be achieved by other means, such as increasing the number of ICE agents,” he said…

Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas, who was instrumental in getting the program started in 1996, said, “Law enforcement officials believe that this voluntary program works.” He added, “Those who are serious about public safety should call for its expansion.”

The GAO report comes days after research and advocacy group Justice Strategies blasted the 287 (g) program for ineffectiveness and racial profiling. Additionally, the Migration Policy Institute recently concluded that most immigrants detained by ICE were nonviolent offenders.

Image- ABC News
Online Sources- azcentral.com, KPHO.com, the Latin Americanist, New York Times, AP, UPI