Obama Administration Warns ICE Agents Not To Detain Illegal Immigrant Parents

CONTACT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON THIS ISSUE!

The Obama administration issued a new policy Friday that says immigration agents should try not to arrest and deport illegal immigrant parents of minor children. The move adds to the categories of people the administration is trying not to deport.

In a nine-page memo, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said agents should use “prosecutorial discretion” to try to avoid detaining parents and, if parents are detained, agents should make sure they have the ability to visit with their children or participate in family court proceedings.

The move won praise from immigrant-rights groups who said it’s a step toward a less harsh detention policy. But a top Republican blasted the memo as another effort by the Obama administration to circumvent the law.

“President Obama has once again abused his authority and unilaterally refused to enforce our current immigration laws by directing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to stop removing broad categories of unlawful immigrants,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, Virginia Republican.

Mr. Goodlatte, whose committee is in charge of many of the immigration bills the House could consider later this year and who is working on a legalization bill for young illegal immigrants, said the Obama administration move “poisons the debate” and shows the president is trying to “politicize the issue” rather than work for a compromise bill.

The memo is the latest in a series of directives issued by ICE and by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that try to lay out priorities for who the government will detain and try to deport.

Ms. Napolitano says her department is only funded to deport about 400,000 immigrants a year, out of a total population of about 11 million. She said it makes sense to focus those deportation efforts on immigrants with serious criminal records or who have repeatedly violated immigration laws.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/23/new-obama-policy-warns-agents-not-detain-illegal-i/#ixzz2d0CPI4jm
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

To contact Congress On this issue click on your state link to find & contact your members of Congress

US Government

US Senate

US House

State/Federal Candidates

Members of Congress

Bills & Resolutions

Bills & Resolutions

Voting Records

National Weather

Maps

Report Illegals & Employers

Military

CONTACT THE  PRESIDENT

CONTACT THE VICE  PRESIDENT

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER

SENATE MINORITY LEADER

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER

[Alabama], [Alaska], [American Samoa], [Arizona], [Arkansas], [California], [Colorado], [Connecticut], [Delaware], [District of Columbia], [Florida], [Georgia], [Guam], [Hawaii], [Idaho], [Illinois], [Indiana], [Iowa], [Kansas], [Kentucky], [Louisiana], [Maine], [Maryland], [Massachusetts], [Michigan], [Minnesota], [Mississippi], [Missouri], [Montana], [Nebraska], [Nevada], [New Hampshire], [New Jersey], [New Mexico], [New York], [North Carolina], [North Dakota], [Northern Mariana Islands], [Ohio], [Oklahoma], [Oregon], [Pennsylvania], [Puerto Rico], [Rhode Island], [South Carolina], [South Dakota], [Tennessee], [Texas], [Utah], [Vermont], [Virginia], [Virgin Islands], [Washington], [West Virginia], [Wisconsin], [Wyoming]