1. House GOP to subpoena data
2. Feds won't investigate
3. GOP hopefuls discuss SC
4. AZ Sheriff seizes guns
5. Illegals rescued at border
1.
House GOP to subpoena immigration data
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times, November 1, 2011
House Republicans are moving to subpoena a list of all immigrants whom the Obama administration has flagged under its secure communities program but failed to arrest for deportation, after the Homeland Security Department missed a congressionally imposed deadline to produce the information this week.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, said he wants the data so he can see who is among the 300,000 people the administration has deemed too low a priority to detain under new deportation guidelines. He has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday for the immigration subcommittee to vote to authorize the subpoena.
“Why would DHS want to keep this information from the committee?” Mr. Smith will say at the meeting, according to an advance copy of his statement. “If there is nothing to hide, why wouldn’t they provide Congress with these documents? Are administration officials concerned that the requested information will show that illegal and criminal immigrants intentionally released by ICE have gone on to commit more crimes?”
He first requested the information in August, and last week set an Oct. 31 deadline for turning it over. He said Homeland Security initially seemed prepared to cooperate, but the request became mired in recent weeks and this week he said the department told him some of the data belong to the FBI and can’t be turned over without that agency’s consent.
Late Tuesday, a spokesman for the department told The Washington Times, “DHS is fully cooperating with the committee and is in the process of gathering information responsive to the committee’s inquiry.” But he did not comment on what the holdup was.
Congressional subpoenas have been rare, even though Republicans took control of the House after the 2010 elections. This will be the first subpoena issued by the Judiciary Committee, and follows a subpoena that the Energy and Commerce Committee issued this year for documents related to Solyndra, the failed solar power company that received special attention from the Obama administration.
At root, the deportation dispute is about the way the Obama administration has been enforcing immigration laws.
While the Homeland Security Department has set records for total deportations, it has shifted its emphasis away from rank-and-file illegal immigrants and toward those with serious criminal records or repeat immigration-law violators. Of the nearly 400,000 people deported in fiscal year 2011, 216,000 had criminal records.
As a result of the shift, though, illegal immigrants who are working or going to school in the U.S. and not running afoul of other criminal laws are under less of a threat of deportation.
The Obama administration’s deportation policy relies heavily on Secure Communities, a program started under President George W. Bush but dramatically expanded by Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano. It takes names and fingerprints that federal, state and local jails send to the FBI and runs them through immigration databases to see who could be eligible for deportation.
A Congressional Research Service report issued late last month found that Secure Communities identified 318,308 foreigners potentially eligible for deportation in the first half of fiscal year 2011, and of those, 73,466 were arrested by immigration authorities.
That means Homeland Security declined to pursue immediate cases against more than 250,000 people who could have been eligible for deportation.
Mr. Smith wants to know who those people are, what crimes they were charged with and why they didn’t rise to the level of deportation.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/1/house-gop-to-subpoena-imm... Murgo
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2.
Feds decline investigation of NYC detention center
The Associated Press, November 1, 2011
The U.S. Marshals Service has declined to investigate allegations by activists that immigrants at a private New York City detention center have been abused.
Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service, said Tuesday that the agency had conducted annual and spot inspections at the Queens Detention Facility since 2008. The center passed its most recent inspection in September, he said.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Make the Road New York, an immigrant rights group, called for an investigation of the center last month after saying they had received reports of mistreatment of detainees and lack of medical care at the privately operated center.
They also claimed that the center, operated by the Florida-based GEO Group Inc., houses immigrants facing deportation, but the U.S. Marshals Service said it was under contract to hold about 200 people accused of crimes.
The public advocate reiterated Tuesday the need for a federal investigation. "At issue here are the practices and accountability of the private detention system," he said. "This is very simple: if GEO is putting immigrants' lives at risk .... the government should end its relationship with the company."
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http://online.wsj.com/article/AP887c080afff24185979e121d6f3351b1.html
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3.
GOP Hopefuls Weigh In on South Carolina's Tough Immigration Law
Fox News Latino, November 2, 2011
The U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit against South Carolina's tough immigration law is under fire from a number of GOP presidential hopefuls in the run-up to next week's debate on national security issues.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement he supports the measure because the federal government isn't enforcing border laws. Perry, who was accused in an early debate of being too lenient toward undocumented immigrants in his state, has recently taken a tougher public stance on the issue.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said she supports South Carolina's efforts because President Obama has failed to achieve border security.
The Justice Department on Monday challenged a law that takes effect in January, which would make it a state crime to be in the country without a valid visa, requires local law enforcement to call federal immigration officials if they suspect the person of being undocumented, and mandates that all businesses check their hires through the federal online system known as E-Verify.
U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said that the law violates people's right to due process and the Justice Department argues that the law imposes significant burdens on federal agencies and will divert funds from priority such as the fight against terrorism, drug smuggling, gangs and apprehending people wanted for other crimes.
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http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/11/02/republican-candidat...
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4.
AZ sheriff says 2 guns tied to 'Fast and Furious'
The Associated Press, November 1, 2011
An Arizona sheriff says that two guns seized as part of a major drug smuggling bust have been connected to a botched federal investigation known as "Fast and Furious."
"Fast and Furious" was a controversial Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' investigation that lost track of up to 1,400 weapons that were sold in Arizona gun stores to suspected straw buyers for Mexican drug gangs.
A number of guns have been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and two were found at the scene of a Border Patrol agent's death.
Now Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu says two more "Fast and Furious" guns have been seized in Arizona from members of the Sinaloa cartel, Mexico's most powerful.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gGt37b9XPtmbHLT_czwVPt...
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5.
Five rescued from pipe at border
By Debbi Baker
The San Diego Union Tribune, November 2, 2011
Five people suspected of trying to enter the county illegally through a narrow pipe under the border had to be rescued early Wednesday.
Border Patrol agents first spotted the group entering the passageway through a manhole in Mexico south of Via De La Amistad and east of state Route 905 about 11:15 p.m., Border Patrol Agent Michael Jimenez said.
Agents searched for the pipe's exit and found it using a dog about two hours later. They could see a man inside the hole looking up asking for help, Jimenez said.
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/nov/02/five-rescued-tunnel-border/
