Posted on 01/22/2006 2:58:29 AM PST by anymouse
Count Tom DeLay as one of those upset about Thursday’s roundup of day laborers in League City.
But the Republican congressman wasn’t troubled to see that 62 suspected illegal immigrants were rounded up in the sweep.
Instead, he was dismayed because almost all were let go.
“I am very encouraged we have local law enforcement that wants to go after criminals who happen to be illegal immigrants and that (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) would help,” said DeLay, who has made immigration one of the top issues of his re-election campaign. “On the other hand, I am disheartened that they had to release 60 illegal immigrants.”
In a joint sweep Thursday morning, League City police and agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided two hangouts for day laborers.
League City police said they were searching for three men wanted on charges ranging from sexual assault of a child to intoxicated manslaughter.
An immigration spokesman said her agency was there to assist in determining the immigration status of those rounded up and to detain only those who posed a risk to the community.
“It’s a matter of setting a priority because we simply do not have enough beds to take them all into custody,” said Louisa Deason of the immigration and customs agency.
Those not deemed a threat or not wanted by law enforcement were let go and told they must get their immigration status worked out, said Deason.
Two people were taken into immigration’s custody because they had warrants for their arrest.
None of the three men League City police were seeking was caught in the sweep. A police spokesman said the raid did not net any new information on their cases.
DeLay says none of those let go should still be free.
A staunch advocate of tougher enforcement of immigration laws, DeLay spent part of the day Friday on the phone with John Clark, deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Gene Lowery, assistant special agent in charge of the Houston office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, expressing his exasperation.
DeLay said the philosophy within immigration enforcement is changing from a policy of catch and release to catch and remove from the country.
“We are changing the philosophy of enforcing the law,” said DeLay. “Changing the philosophy takes money and organization.”
DeLay said Clark assured him the regional immigration office would soon get the money it needs to contract with area jails to detain illegal immigrants.
DeLay is not likely to find much support for his stance from members of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
A top official with LULAC’s district office said he would ask for the local chapter of the organization to investigate.
The Latin American Organization for Immigrant Rights as well as the Progressive Workers Organizing Committee plan to protest in front of the League City police department this afternoon.
David Michael Smith, one of the organizers, said his group is promoting an immigration policy that establishes a process for illegal immigrants to become legal residents.
But the U.S. House of Representatives rejected such a measure, backed by President George W. Bush. That legislation would have offered limited residency and a guest worker program.
Instead, a bill that would classify illegal immigrants as felons passed the House. That bill was backed by DeLay.
“The American people, particularly in my district, do not believe us when we say we can secure the border,” said DeLay. “So, until we can prove to them we will secure the borders first, no guest worker program will have any support from the public.”
Groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Service Employees International Union — usually on opposite sides on workplace legislation — back the Bush guest worker policy.
DeLay may have found support for the catch and deport philosophy from his likely opponent in the fall election — Democrat Nick Lampson.
Lampson, a former congressman, said he, too, is opposed to the current catch and release policy.
“We have to enforce the law,” he said. “If people are found to be violating the law, we cannot just look the other way.
Lampson said he wants to toughen enforcement against businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
“If you go back and look at how much action has been taken against those employers, it’s pretty clear we are not enforcing the law on either side of the problem,” he said.
Galveston ping.
The reality is that DeLay has held a powerful position in Congress in which he could have pushed appropriations needed to deal with deporting illegals.
Let's ask Mr. DeLay and Mr. Anymouse, which would be best? Should we use the resources available to remove 60 OTMs or these 60 illegals.
How about improvised jails?
What would be wrong with putting them on barges anchored offshore?
OPINION GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
OPEN LETTER TO LEAGUE CITY COUNCIL ON THE UNDOCUMENTED WORKER PROBLEM
Prompted by the more than 60 day laborers who were recently arrested during a raid that brought national attention to a League City, TX issue.
http://www.jarbobayoutimes.com/
Nice attempt to portray his as the extremist position, rather than the position of those who say we shouldn't be enforcing the laws at all.
I got an idea, why don't we toughen the enforcement against the people who's business it is to control immigration.
The governments solution is to have somebody else do their job for them.
Hiring an illegal alien to do anything including lawn care or maid service is illegal. Ignoring that fact doesn't make it not so. Running red lights is illegal also.
It is not just the penalty for breaking both of these laws that should motivate people to obey the law, but rather the consequences to our society if everyone consistently flaunted these laws.
WTF, DeLay has always had a "get tough on illegals" position, but Tom cannot do it by himself with the GOP being spineless on this issue.
>>>The reality is that DeLay has held a powerful position in Congress in which he could have pushed appropriations.
Again, Tom cannot do it by himself and DeLay sits on NO congressional committees, including the House Appropriation Committee. - fla
What you are really saying is that you want to deport 20 million illegals and Ben doesn't. Ben supports a guest worker and you don't.
Of course you know that there are no bills in congress providing for deportation and that really chaps your butt.
I can see why you rely so much on your own imagination when debating this issue. Dealing only with the facts would put you at such a disadvantage.
Ben supports a guest worker [program]
For illegals. And thus it's only natural that he'd be so hostile to those who want to reduce the number of illegals entering the country.
I have pointed out that a reform bill such as Tancredo's or Kyl-Cornyn would require a lot more enforcement than the Bush Plan which would require more enforcement than McCain-Kennedy.
I have also pointed out that trying to remedy the illegal problem with enforcement only(no comprehensive reform) is destined for failure. They can't enforce the laws they have now, so why create more laws. They have doubled resources on the southern border over the last decade, yet more illegals are entering now than there were then.
You would never actually admit to that, of course. But your relentless attacks on those who are trying to enforce the law, tell the tale all too clearly.
I have also pointed out that trying to remedy the illegal problem with enforcement only(no comprehensive reform) is destined for failure.
Where did DeLay say that he wanted enforcement only? He said he wanted enforcement. The issue he was commenting on in the article of the thread was whether these particular illegals who were rounded up should or should not have been deported. So the only question that needed to be answered for the purposes of this thread was which of the two options - deporting them, or not deporting them - would have helped the situation more. Shouldn't be all that hard to answer.
As I pointed out way up at the top of the thread, Does Mr DeLay or you think that the avaiable detention beds should be used to deport these 60 particular illegals or 60 OTMs?
Since Mr Delay is not here to answer, tell me your answer.
If there were available beds at the time, then they might as well have used them for these 60 illegals. If 60 Arabs get caught afterwards, there's no reason why the 60 Mexicans couldn't then be released to make room for them.
But the problem DeLay was pointing out, of course, is that beds weren't available, either for these 60 illegals, or for 60 OTMs.
As I also pointed out above, Mr DeLay ia/was an important man in Congress and since Congress appropriates the money for these dentention bed, why didn't he see to it that there are more of them.
Face the facts, DeLay's statements are nothing more than rhetoric to raise money/get re-elected.
Umm, that's what he's trying to do. "Being an important man in Congress" does not translate to being able to snap your fingers and get Congress to appropriate the money. Especially when it's the Senate that's the holdup.
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