Tensions have been rising ever since word got out that comprehensive immigration reform won't happen anytime soon. Arizona's ill-advised SB1070 and the illegal release of the Utah "blacklist" are just two examples of how people are willing to go to extremes when our nation's leaders fail to lead. What's happening now should seem like a déjà vu to those who watched Congress stumble on immigration reform in 2007. What followed back then were hundreds of state and local immigration-related bills being introduced most of which did more harm than good. Recently, we've seen that same uptick in state and local measures.
What also followed after the failure of the 2007 immigration bill was a period of heightened enforcement driven partly by the Bush Administration's desire to show it could be tough in its enforcement of immigration laws. Now the Obama Administration is facing the same challenge. But by any measure, enforcement is happening at a significantly greater level than in past years. Newspapers are reporting widely what we've known for months: that deportations have increased dramatically compared to the last years in the Bush administration and will hit 400,000 this fiscal year. Secretary Napolitano has ably demonstrated that resources spent on border security are at an unprecedented level. Yet the calls keep coming for more national guard, more fences, more money to be thrown at the border, without any regard for what is really going to make a difference.
The more difficult problem this President faces is showing that he's a law enforcer who can do so in a way that is fair and humane. Almost exactly one year ago, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton announced a raft of much-needed reforms to the substandard immigration detention system. Following those announcements were statements — and a new policy memo released on June 30 — that the federal government would use taxpayer dollars smartly and wisely and target those lawbreakers who are highest priority — namely those with violent criminal backgrounds who pose a threat to our safety. For employers the message has been that ICE would target egregious law violators that exploit workers.
Those were heartening pronouncements, but a year has passed on several of the announced reforms, and the signs of progress have been slow to come. AILA members continue to report cases of those stuck in detention who are mistreated or who have compelling cases for relief and should be released. Even worse, in late March, the Washington Post broke a story that senior level ICE officials were still imposing quotas on their officers to meet a set number of arrests and deportations-apparently without regard to any prioritization of those who are most dangerous. In May, ICE disclosed that a guard working at a Texas detention facility sexually abused women during transport. And this week, Human Rights Watch and the ACLU released a report detailing how immigrants with mental disabilities are often unjustifiably detained for years on end, and prevented from making claims against deportation — including claims of US citizenship — because they were unable to represent themselves.
Changing the trajectory of a behemoth institution is an enormous task, and this Administration is definitely confronting the problem of getting its marching orders to the field. But how much longer can we wait? President Obama still has the opportunity to demonstrate real leadership but he must act urgently. If he exercises his enforcement muscle no differently than was done the past, he also risks losing his moral authority and the ability to lead on this controversial issue of immigration reform. That would be a terrible mistake.
No comments:
Post a Comment