Ten immigration agents have just filed suit in federal court in Dallas to challenge the illegal DREAM Scheme amnesty that's now underway. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents include Chris Crane, president of their union. The first paragraph of the complaint sums up their claim:
This lawsuit seeks to prevent law enforcement officer Plaintiffs from being forced to either violate federal law if they comply with the unlawful Directive or risk adverse employment action if they disobey the unlawful orders of the DHS Secretary. This lawsuit also seeks to preserve the balance of legislative and executive powers established by the United States Constitution.
The possibility of "adverse employment action" isn't theoretical. An ICE agent in Delaware was threatened with suspension if he didn't release an illegal alien with 10 prior traffic violations. In El Paso, two ICE agents doing a routine inmate screening found an illegal alien who’d been arrested by cops for domestic assault; the illegal alien attempted to escape, assaulting one of the agents in the process, and was then released — and the ICE officers were questioned by supervisors regarding possible disciplinary action because the illegal alien was a DREAMer.
That's why the ICE union is circulating a petition asking ICE director John Morton to stop punishing agents for doing their jobs. It's already got 59,000 signatures — go sign it now.
Kris Kobach is the lead attorney in today's lawsuit and Numbers USA is underwriting the effort. The Washington Times story on the lawsuit is here, and links to more information, including the full complaint, are here.