IMMIGRATION
The Consequences Of Enforcement Without Reform

The public debate on immigration reform in the United States has tended to focus on a narrow set of factors: a porous border between the U.S. and Mexico, the large number of undocumented immigrants inside the United States, and the politics of comprehensive reform versus border security. Hidden beneath the surface of these debates, however, is a shadowy world of law enforcement mechanisms that not only exacerbate the immigration problem in the country, but also violate the due process and basic human rights of immigrants who get caught up in a "system of neglect" that can at times result in unnecessary death. These problems often begin at the front lines of enforcement. Last month, federal agents conducted the "biggest immigration raid in U.S. history" that nabbed nearly 400 workers at a meat-packing plant in Iowa. While most of the people arrested have been sentenced, "not one company official as yet faces any charges -- something critics say is typical of a federal government that is tough on employees but easy on owners." In fact, such raids tend to reinforce the Bush administration's public relations campaign designed to present the facade that "the federal government is cracking down on illegal immigration." As Frank Sharry, executive director of the immigration-reform group America's Voice, noted, "[T]hose who think enforcement is the answer can't seriously believe the 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. can be arrested and deported."

OPERATION STREAMLINE: Last November, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that "the days of treating employers who violate [immigration] laws by giving them the equivalent of a corporate parking ticket -- those days are gone. It's now felonies, jail time, fines, and forfeitures." But throughout 2007, just two percent of illegal immigration related arrests "involved criminal charges against those who hired the workers." In fact, the federal government's focus on employees rather than employers has "increased criminal prosecutions of immigration violators to record levels in part by filing minor charges against virtually every person caught illegally crossing some stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border." Piloted in 2005, "Operation Streamline," as the program is known, "requires that virtually everyone caught illegally crossing segments of the border be charged with at least a misdemeanor immigration count and jailed until they are brought to court and, if convicted, eventually deported." However, last February, Streamline cases outnumbered all other Department of Justice prosecutions combined. The program is "swamping federal courthouses" and "distorting the functions of law enforcement and the courts" as sex crimes, drug cases, murders, assault, and other crimes increasingly are ignored. "We're concerned about the misdirection of resources," said Heather Williams, first assistant to the federal public defender of Arizona, adding "this is taking on a life of its own."

'BETTER CARE IN THE DOG POUND': Since 2003, "when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] agency was created, 83 deaths reportedly have been linked to detention sites run by ICE or by private contractors and local governments." The ICE detention infrastructure holds more than 300,000 detainees per year and recent crackdowns have fueled a dramatic expansion, nearly doubling the number of beds (33,000) since 2004. A recent investigation of ICE detention centers by the Washington Post "found a hidden world of flawed medical judgments, faulty administrative practices, neglectful guards, ill-trained technicians, sloppy record-keeping, lost medical files and dangerous staff shortages." Detainees who are physically sick or mentally ill are caught up in ICE's "system of neglect" where "[t]hey are locked in a world of slow care, poor care and no care, with panic and coverups among employees watching it happen." One detainee, Yusif Osman, a native of Ghana, died in his cell of heart failure. It's likely the true cause of his death resulted from poor record keeping and neglect. Doctors who reviewed Osman's case said "he might have lived had he received timely treatment, perhaps as basic as an aspirin." One nurse at an Arizona detention facility -- who quit because of "scary medicine" practices -- concluded that "dogs get better care in the dog pound."

FEWER RIGHTS, MORE SMUGGLING: The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has noted that "[r]ather than reducing undocumented immigration, the enforcement-without-reform strategy" pursues "undocumented immigrants who are not a threat to anyone, and who are drawn here by the labor needs of our own economy." But once swept up, in most cases these ICE detainees "are not guaranteed free legal representation" and as part of ICE's "expedited removal" program, many arriving immigrants are quickly deported "without the opportunity for a hearing before an immigration judge." In fact, most of the 30,000-plus detainees do not even face criminal charges; many are there for civil violations, some have overstayed a visa, while others are seeking asylum. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) called the laws cracking down on undocumented immigrants "repugnant," adding that they are "violating due process and basic human rights of people." Moreover, the IPC notes that such immigration policies have "fueled the growth of increasingly profitable and sophisticated businesses in human smuggling." The "[i]ncreased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices." As the New York Times recently reported, "The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes."

Under the Radar

ETHICS -- GOP REP. HOBSON EARMARKED MILLIONS FOR PROJECTS NEAR HIS OWN PROPERTIES: Since 2001, Rep. David Hobson (R-OH) "has directed millions of taxpayer dollars to two Ohio projects near real estate he owned," according to an investigation by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Hobson has secured roughly $32 million for the two projects, which include a freight transfer station at Rickenbacker Air Force Base near Columbus, OH. Hobson says "he didn't personally benefit from either project" and that the Plain Dealer is "trying to find something evil somewhere." But other companies who own land near the Air Force base say "there has been a real boom" since Hobson secured the federal funds. One company executive, Duke Realty Vice President Jim Clark, said that "the values of properties near the airport quadrupled over the past decade," much of which he attributed to the "anticipated demand from the airport's new freight transfer station." Though Hobson's earmarking is not illegal, watchdog groups say his use of tax dollars for projects near his real estate is a "terrible conflict of interest." But Hobson is not alone in Congress when it comes to raking in big bucks off their legislative earmarks. Lawmakers like former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) have also profited from earmarked projects near property they owned.

CLIMATE CHANGE -- NASA IG REPORT FINDS 'PATTERN OF DISTORTION AND SUPPRESSION OF CLIMATE SCIENCE': Two years after 14 senators requested an investigation, NASA's inspector general has released a report finding "a pattern of distortion and suppression of climate science by political appointees" at the agency. The report, released yesterday, "criticized what it said was a sustained pattern of activities, largely supervised by senior political appointees, that included muting or withholding news released on global warming and...limiting a scientist's interactions with reporters." Dean Acosta, former deputy assistant administrator for public affairs at NASA, sharply attacked the report, saying, "The inspector general's assertions are patently false," and claiming it uncovered "nothing but flimsy allegations aimed at hard-working public servants." James Hansen, NASA's leading climate scientist, first raised complaints about political interference in 2006, saying that the White House tried to prevent him from discussing global warming with the media. As recently as this past January, Hansen said that the White House "reviews and edits" all testimony by government scientists. 

RADICAL RIGHT -- McCLELLAN SAYS CRITICS ARE TRYING TO 'TAKE THE FOCUS AWAY' FROM BOOK'S KEY THEMES': Last week, in response to Scott McClellan's explosive memoir, former senator Bob Dole sent a vitriolic personal e-mail to McClellan, calling him a "miserable creature." "[Y]our type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique," Dole charged. On CBS's Early Show yesterday, McClellan shrugged off Dole's and the right wing's attacks on him. "[N]o one is really refuting the key themes and perspectives in the book. What they are doing is taking some of these personal attacks and misrepresentations and trying to shift this focus away from what this book talks about," he said. Indeed, it's difficult to find a right-wing personality directly taking issue with the substance of McClellan's book. For example, former White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy wrote yesterday, "Please forgive me, Scott, if this sounds personal, but you've just filleted me and everyone who worked with you." "I mean my lack of interest in Scott McClellan's personal odyssey of self-discovery is a negative," said former House speaker Newt Gingrich.

Think Fast

At Fort Benning in Georgia, the Army has assigned soldiers suffering from PTSD to housing located just 200 yards away from firing ranges. The "barrages from rifles and machine guns" make these wounded soldiers "cringe" and "stay awake and on edge," and recently "sent one soldier to the emergency room with an anxiety attack." Complaints to medical personnel and officers have brought no relief.

55 percent: Americans surveyed who said their families were financially worse off than they were a year ago. The USA Today/Gallup poll finds that "Americans are more downbeat about their personal financial situations now than they’ve been in decades."

CQ reports that in just the first three months of this year, "three of the nation's biggest telecommunications companies have employed 37 lobbying firms to urge lawmakers to include such immunity in any overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act." These companies and their allies spent more than $14 million lobbying during this time.

"We have the first global warming bill in history that is comprehensive, bipartisan and that enjoys support across the country," said Al Gore of Senate climate change legislation being debated this week. "While it's important that people change their light bulbs, it's even more important that we change the laws."

John Albaugh, chief of staff to former Republican congressman Ernest Istook, "has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud the House as part of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Albaugh, who faces up to two years in prison, "told a federal judge that he was guilty of accepting gifts in return for official favors."

And finally: In addition to his Emmy, Stephen Colbert has another award to add to his mantle: "The Great Princeton Class of 2008 Understandable Vanity Award." The award was mounted on a mirror. "I have to say, I've never seen anything more beautiful," Colbert said to Princeton's graduating class of '08 on Monday. Instead of offering motivational advice, he also told the students, "I'm scared of you. I can tell you are go-getters. ... When you leave here, no one will ever, ever want to hear you sing a capella."

Good News

The Senate voted 74-14 yesterday to proceed with "legislation to combat global warming by mandatory reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases."

State Watch

OHIO: "Gov. Ted Strickland (D) signed a measure capping payday lending rates at 28 percent."

CALIFORNIA: "An initiative defining marriage as 'between a man and a woman' in the state constitution qualified Monday for the November ballot."

MASSACHUSETTS: "Massachusetts reduced its proportion of uninsured adults by nearly half in the first year of mandatory health coverage," a new study shows.

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: Vice President Cheney offers false excuse for his "So?" comment: I meant, "What's the question, Martha?"

WONK ROOM: The essentially deceptive rhetoric of the Washington Post's Robert J. Samuelson.

FEMINISTING: Kmart promotes abstinence pants

YEAS AND NAYS: Spelling bee contestants: President Bush is "embarrassing."

Daily Grill

"[T]he vice president noted that he had Cheneys on both sides of his family. 'And we don't even live in West Virginia. ... You can say those things when you're not running for re-election.'"
-- AP, 6/2/08

VERSUS

"On reflection, he concluded that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made. The Vice President apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the inappropriate remark."
-- Cheney spokeswoman Lea Ann McBride, 6/2/08