Homeland Security Frees 27 Illegals, Sends Them Back to Work

[TitsMcGee]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512098,00.html

SEATTLE — The Department of Homeland Security freed 27 illegal immigrants arrested during a workplace raid in February and offered them legal work permits, signaling a major departure from the immigration enforcement policy of the Bush administration.

The Feb. 24 raid of an auto parts plant in Bellingham, Wash., netted 28 illegal immigrants. While one was deported, the remaining workers were released from custody and given employment authorization documents, or EADs, in exchange for cooperating with an ongoing investigation of their employer, Yamato Engine Specialists.

The EAD is a temporary work permit most commonly given to people applying for green cards or citizenship. It usually lasts for one year, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) sources tell FOX News that these work permits will expire when the case against Yamato is closed.

Immigrant rights activists support the move and the new direction Secretary Janet Napolitano is taking the Homeland Security Department with her focus on penalizing employers rather than the immigrants themselves.

"She is crafting and the people in her department are crafting a strategy that could target some people who are abusive and manipulative as employers," said Pramila Jayapal, executive director of the Seattle-based immigrant aid group OneAmerica.

But critics say the softened policy will increase the number of illegal immigrants entering the country.

"The signal that it sends to illegal immigrants is that if you can get here, you're pretty much home free," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

The Bellingham raid was the first and only mass arrest of immigrants since President Obama took office and came as a shock to Napolitano, who ordered a review of the incident the day after.

"I didn't know about it beforehand," she told the House Homeland Security Committee the morning following the raid. "I want to get to the bottom of this as well."

The response from the Department of Homeland Security marks a major shift from the last years of the Bush administration, when workplace arrests of illegals were commonplace.

Criminal arrests of employers who hired illegal immigrants skyrocketed from 25 in 2002 to 1,103 in 2008. The number of deportations jumped from 485 to 5,184 over that same time period. The Obama administration has sought a freeze on immigrant arrests.

Enforcement advocates say Americans should be outraged by the government giving illegal immigrants a right to work when unemployment is so high for documented workers.

Unemployment in Whatcom County, home to the Yamato plant, has risen to 8.1 percent, and in the days after the Yamato raid, more than 150 people applied for the jobs made open by the arrests.

Immigrant groups say the release was a humane act that is keeping families together and allowing them to earn a decent living.

Secretary Napolitano is expected to soon formally announce new guidelines for workplace immigration enforcement.

An I.C.E source in Washington D.C. disputes the claim that this marks a new policy telling FOX News the work permits are issued as an investigative tool to get cooperation from the illegal immigrants.

I don't think outrage even covers what I feel about this.

[asphyxian_doll]

When the case is closed it will expire......

get over it.

[TitsMcGee]

When the case is closed it will expire......

get over it.

No I will not get over it. Illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens during this god awful recession. I have a feeling that if you had been one of the 150 people that applied for the jobs, and they were just handed back to people who shouldn't be here in the first place, you'd be pissed off too.

And do you really think that once the permits expire, they will really just leave the country?

[Rev.Reverence]

Not sayin' I ain't abgry as well...but THIS TIME..THESE immigrants ARE helping to bust this company!

...don't you think that who ever employed them is going to just look for more?

.....if ass hats in charge of companies did not hire these guys..they would go home..

...you're actin' like it is ALL the workers fault here...anger at the suit & tie guys who use cheaper labor AND raise prices so they can vacation 2 times a year

[candyman]

Yeah, apparently the common people of Wisconsin are not willing to do roof jobs, concrete work, gardening, cleaning, painting, etc...

wait...aren't those the jobs I like to do? for money?

[TitsMcGee]

Not sayin' I ain't abgry as well...but THIS TIME..THESE immigrants ARE helping to bust this company!

...don't you think that who ever employed them is going to just look for more?

.....if ass hats in charge of companies did not hire these guys..they would go home..

...you're actin' like it is ALL the workers fault here...anger at the suit & tie guys who use cheaper labor AND raise prices so they can vacation 2 times a year

They could have busted the company without fucking over American citizens hoping to get the jobs freed up from the illegals. It's a slap in the face to the unemployed citizens of this country. The government is basically saying, "We don't care if they're illegal, we'll let them do what they want."

[ttogreh]

Hmm... this is pretty crappy, but it's pretty crappy all around this subject. You know, maybe there ought to be an expansion of NAFTA. Just make all of this bullshit go away. We have this "under the table" thing going on.

What if we just got rid of the table?

What if, Mexicans, Canadians, and Americans all had one set of rules for every worker on the continent? If a Mexican worker applied for a job in the open, and the employer had to pay him the same wages as an American or Canadian, don't you think employers would start hiring closer to home?

There would be no incentive to hire illegals, because there would be no such thing as illegal workers.

[TitsMcGee]

Hmm... this is pretty crappy, but it's pretty crappy all around this subject. You know, maybe there ought to be an expansion of NAFTA. Just make all of this bullshit go away. We have this "under the table" thing going on.

What if we just got rid of the table?

What if, Mexicans, Canadians, and Americans all had one set of rules for every worker on the continent? If a Mexican worker applied for a job in the open, and the employer had to pay him the same wages as an American or Canadian, don't you think employers would start hiring closer to home?

There would be no incentive to hire illegals, because there would be no such thing as illegal workers.

That still doesn't solve the illigal immigration problem. I have no problem with employers using foreign workers, if said workers are legal AND the employer has already offered the jobs to local people (american citizens). This is my biggest issues with Mackinaw City and Mackinaw Island, because they will import people from Jamacia and Eastern Europe to work for the season instead of hireing locals. I've been trying for years to get a job up there for the season, and I get nothing. It's quite frustrating, especially since my county is at 24.4% unemployment. That's the highest in the state of Michigan.

[ttogreh]

Well, that is nuts. It's cheaper for an eastern European or Jamaican to fly thousands of miles, work for the season, and fly back than it is to hire someone in the county and pay social security and all of the other things?

Seriously, that is screwed up. If American, Canadian, and Mexican social programs were pooled into one fund, and income taxes were flat for any of the three countries citizens, I think that would really solve this problem.

We aren't going to fight any wars with Mexico or Canada, and we already are the largest trading partners with one another. I mean, the way we have it set up just isn't working. People are being shipped halfway across the world for six months because of these protectionist policies.

That's what is driving illegal immigration from Mexico: no jobs in Mexico.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

and the killings and corruption in thier government... thier social system that keeps all power in the hands a chosen few...

[ttogreh]

I think that Canada and America have a right to force Mexico to improve the quality of life of Mexicans. As long as Canada and America have a chaotic country to share this continent, we are going to have these insane rules that incentivize eastern Europeans and Jamaicans coming to do the work that locals are willing to do.

I have never read the NAFTA treaty, but do you know off hand if there is a clause stating that the three countries need to work to improve social conditions in each country?

[candyman]

I think that Canada and America have a right to force Mexico to improve the quality of life of Mexicans. As long as Canada and America have a chaotic country to share this continent, we are going to have these insane rules that incentivize eastern Europeans and Jamaicans coming to do the work that locals are willing to do.

I have never read the NAFTA treaty, but do you know off hand if there is a clause stating that the three countries need to work to improve social conditions in each country?

Yeah, so how do you think we should go about telling Mexico to improve? It would obviously be in their best interests to improve, however they have never once showed any interest in improving. In fact, looking at their history it looks like they really enjoy wallowing in their own filth and making it worse. Even their expensive resort towns and exotic beaches are turning into shit...and that even makes them money!

Now, we can pass all the laws and regualtions that we want but...have you ever tried to take a toy away from a small child that was abusing it?

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Yes. It's not that hard to do. You may have to resort to spanking them.

[candyman]

Yes. It's not that hard to do. You may have to resort to spanking them.

Are you sure the American and Canadian public are willing to "spank" Mexico if they don't agree on shaping up?

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Never said I was, yet, that may be what needs to be done.

[candyman]

Never said I was, yet, that may be what needs to be done.

I know that Mexico will need a little "push" to go the right way...but if we try anything a few people will twist meanings and some up with how it is wrong within seconds and everyone will listen to them...even if we are helping.