More ways the US Spends taxpayers money

[Sergi9 110]

Here is an excellent example of how "secure communities" means "non-secure taxpayer wallet"

This guy has been an LPR for 19 years, he will prevail in court, that will not stop the government with clogging the court and spending crazy money defending a stupid position.

Deporting the Lowest-Level Offenders

This article was written by Fi2W journalist Aswini Anburajan for The American Prospect.

Until May 2009, Jose Reyes was a small-business owner, a father, and a 19-year legal resident of the United States. But on May 13, 2009, Reyes ran afoul of the police, who arrested him after an argument with a man who had rear-ended his car. Charges against Reyes were dropped three days later, but Reyes wasn’t free. “I asked the police, ‘If the charges are dropped, why aren’t you letting me go?’” he says.

The answer was that the arrest triggered deportation proceedings because Reyes had been convicted of marijuana possession 14 years before, long before the post-September 11 anti-immigration crackdown.

In the years between Reyes’ conviction and second arrest, of course, the system changed. Detentions or arrests by local police now automatically trigger immigration holds. Policies like the Criminal Alien Program and Secure Communities gave local and federal officials powers to work together as they never had before. These policies were meant to target undocumented immigrants or potential terrorists who would otherwise slip through the cracks, and immigration officials had a mandate to concentrate on deporting the highest risks to “national security, public safety and border security.”

Instead, officials have spent most of their time deporting men like Reyes. Newly released internal data from the the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit, or ICE, shows that 60 percent of “removals” between October 2008 and February 2011 were of individuals who had either no criminal background or were in the lowest priority category for removals — i.e. individuals like Reyes who had a past violation for an old crime.

To read the whole article, go to The American Prospect.

[peejay 327]

There is likely much more to this story than meets the eye. This guy is obviously on someone's sh*t list. Unfortunately there aren't enough details or the writer purposely chose to omit them in this short story to paint his own picture. Maybe the guy needs to be deported or maybe he doesn't. It's hard to say with so little facts to go by.

He'll get his day in court. And it is not a waste of time and money.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

There is a reason why most people become US citizens as quickly as they are eligible and there is a reason why some people do not become US citizens even after 19 years of being a LPR. Sometimes it's because they don't want to lose their original citizenship; here it is a conviction for possession of illegal drugs.

Being a resident of the US means staying out of trouble by all means. No drunk driving, no ###### slapping, no drugs. That's the reality. He got lucky that Uncle Sam didn't throw him out 14 years ago. Now he caught the attention of Big Brother once again and he will have his day in court.

I'm okay with spending some of my tax dollars on that.

[Sergi9 110]

There is a reason why most people become US citizens as quickly as they are eligible and there is a reason why some people do not become US citizens even after 19 years of being a LPR. Sometimes it's because they don't want to lose their original citizenship; here it is a conviction for possession of illegal drugs.

Being a resident of the US means staying out of trouble by all means. No drunk driving, no ###### slapping, no drugs. That's the reality. He got lucky that Uncle Sam didn't throw him out 14 years ago. Now he caught the attention of Big Brother once again and he will have his day in court.

I'm okay with spending some of my tax dollars on that.

Here is the problem Bob, when people make mistakes they are in the past. His crime didn't have immigration consequences back then. The Government went backwards with this legislation in 1996 and made otherwise trivial crimes a problem with immigration.

I am not ok with spending money to fight a losing battle on a case where we separate a US Citizen from his family over a drug issue 14 years in the past. Dumb

[Ban Hammer 13,489]

Here is the problem Bob, when people make mistakes they are in the past. His crime didn't have immigration consequences back then. The Government went backwards with this legislation in 1996 and made otherwise trivial crimes a problem with immigration.

I am not ok with spending money to fight a losing battle on a case where we separate a US Citizen from his family over a drug issue 14 years in the past. Dumb

except for the minor issue he's not a usc - he's a lpr.