Janet Napolitano: deportation review to begin in weeks

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshge..._in_weeks.html

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Wednesday that the Obama administration's plan to drop some pending deportation cases will get under way in the next few weeks at selected sites across the country.

"The pilot will start in a few weeks, two to three weeks," Napolitano said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. "It will be very short and it's designed to find logistical issues that happen where you're trying to do a massive review of a lot of cases at the same time."

Napolitano said the review, announced in August, is intended to "administratively close some of the low-priority cases." She did not identify the districts where the review would begin, but she said it would be expanded nationwide as soon as the initial effort can be assessed.

Napolitano defended the effort to refocus immigration enforcement on priority cases, such as convicted criminals and recent border-crossers, as logical and similar to directives prior administrations issued to set priorities for deportation. On Tuesday, DHS released statistics showing some progress towards implementing the new priorities, but that a lot of deportees have minor criminal records that are supposed to make them a lower priority for deportation under the announced policy.

"Any prosecution office has finite resources and you have to set priorities," Napolitano said. "The Congress gives us the resources to remove 400,000 [illegal immigrants each year.] The question is who are we going to prioritize."

However, the ranking Republican on the panel, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, called the administration's plan "alarming." He expressed particular concern about the administration's announcement that work permits could be issued to some of those illegal immigrants whose cases are dropped.

"People with no right to remain in the country will be allowed to work here…..is that correct?" Grassley asked skeptically.

Napolitano said that since 1986, the law has allowed work permits for some illegal immigrants who are permitted to remain in the country.

Under questioning by Grassley, Napolitano also said the application of the so-called "prosecutorial discretion" policy to people already ordered deported but who have not left would be very limited.

"Absent unusual circumstances," such individuals would not be eligible for relief, she said. "This is for cases that are clogging up the docket and preventing us from getting to the higher priority cases."

A letter Napolitano used to announce the review two months ago said final deportation orders could be canceled in "compelling cases."

Democrats on the panel were broadly supportive of the review aimed at dismissing some pending deportation cases. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), in fact, urged Napolitano to speed it up.

"I hope that you’ll continue along this line on an expedited basis," Durbin told Napolitano.

Yes, its long overdue for a deportation review. They need to discuss how much more illegals to deport.

this should take us to the end of the year. I don't think there is going to be a dream act vote this year anymore, this news and the 400,000 deported immigrants news will be the last we hear of PRO immigration related news until next year,

400,000 is the number they have to deport each year. I doubt they will find 400,000 criminals each year to deport. To reach that goal they have to deport innocent victims as well.

Under questioning by Grassley, Napolitano also said the application of the so-called "prosecutorial discretion" policy to people already ordered deported but who have not left would be very limited.

"Absent unusual circumstances," such individuals would not be eligible for relief, she said. "This is for cases that are clogging up the docket and preventing us from getting to the higher priority cases."

A letter Napolitano used to announce the review two months ago said final deportation orders could be canceled in "compelling cases."

Has she heard of a man named Onyango Obama who has a final order of deportation, was arrested for drunk driving, sold a controlled substance to minors, and was given relief from deportation and a work permit? Hint: He lives in Boston and has the same last name as the President.

Onyango should have been deported. How many families suffer the loss of a loved one because of a drunk idiot behind the wheel?

I am beginning to experience the same feeling. It's late October. Congress needs to act on the jobs bill, so that might take a few weeks. If Democrats try to take up immigration, the move to do so will most likely be in late November. By then, the GOP argument that Democrats are addressing immigration for political gains will be convincing. Democrats had the whole damn year! And addressing the complex issue of immigration in the last two months of this year is a no no because everything will be so rushed.

I'm over the Obama fever. I once thought we could add him to the greatest presidents list but he has done absolutely nothing during his term and anything he has accomplished is already being undone. The immigrant community should ban together and vote a 3rd party candidate essentially playing KING MAKER. It wouldn't help us for this next term but 2 terms from now immigrants will finally have a voice for issues which matter to them not just immigration. And the G.O.P. trying to raise its immigrant party members on a pedestal now is all bullshit, try to educate those eligible voters around you about the hippocracy those Republican American Immigrant Candidates live by.

All this said, enjoy your last days in the United States our days are numbered.

They said they got 50% of that number as criminals, with secure communities in less than half of jurisdictions. Its going to go nationwide in every town and jail. So yeah, I think they can get close to the entire amount in criminals if it is nationwide. I think thats what they are trying to do

And Obama started counting people caught at the border and voluntary departures "deportations". So thats a chunk of the non criminal number

Good news. After this Dream Act could come up.