Groups Urge DOJ to Stop Prosecuting Immigrants for Illegal Entry

[rangerrebew]

Groups Urge DOJ to Stop Prosecuting Immigrants for Illegal Entry


by Melissa del Bosque
 Wednesday, July 29, 2015, at 8:00 CST

A national bipartisan movement to reduce the United States’ outsized prison population is gaining momentum, but immigration reform advocates say an important piece is still missing from the reform conversation: Thousands of men and women are being incarcerated every year because they entered the U.S. without documents.Illegal entry and re-entry — essentially, the crimes of crossing the border without authorization — are now the most-prosecuted federal crimes.

 Overloaded judges struggle to make time for other cases, including violent crime and financial fraud. Thanks to the surge in illegal entry prosecutions, Latinos now make up the majority of the federal prison population.

 On Tuesday, more than 170 organizations representing criminal justice, immigration reform and faith-based groups sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, urging the Department of Justice to end prosecutions for illegal entry and re-entry.

 Bob Libal, director of Grassroots Leadership, an Austin immigrant advocacy group, said it’s time for the DOJ to reconsider its overzealous prosecution of undocumented immigrants. “There’s a conversation going on about how to reduce mass incarceration, but at the same time you have leaders talking about mandatory minimums for people coming back into the country for basically petty immigration offenses,” he told the Observer.

 Libal said that many people caught at the border are trying to reunite with family members in the United States. “We shouldn’t be throwing immigrants en masse into the prison system,” he said. “We have tens of thousands of people languishing in prison, their only violation being a re-entry offense.”

A broad spectrum of organizations, including the ACLU, the National Lawyers Guild and the Jesuit Conference, signed the letter. Libal said he hopes the move will bring immigrant detention into the broader reform movement around mass incarceration.

“We want to urge the administration to de-prioritize these immigration prosecutions,” Libal said. “If they do, it will have all kinds of positive impact.”

 https://www.texasobserver.org/groups...illegal-entry/

[EdinVA]

...essentially, the crimes of crossing the border without authorization ...

So trespassing should no longer be a crime?
Property rights anyone?

[MACVSOG68]

So trespassing should no longer be a crime?
Property rights anyone?

Indians used to ask the same questions, then the government provided amnesty for the settlers...

[EdinVA]

Indians used to ask the same questions, then the government provided amnesty for the settlers...

Well, my history lessons were the Indians did not have nor understand the concept of property ownership so they did not have "trespassing".
If you were strong enough to take it and keep it then it was yours, hence the constant battles between the tribes.

[MACVSOG68]

Well, my history lessons were the Indians did not have nor understand the concept of property ownership so they did not have "trespassing".
If you were strong enough to take it and keep it then it was yours, hence the constant battles between the tribes.

However different their social values, they certainly had a concept of borders.  And of course, we've been in a few battles ourselves in extending our borders.

[Fishrrman]

[[ A national bipartisan movement to reduce the United States’ outsized prison population is gaining momentum, but immigration reform advocates say an important piece is still missing from the reform conversation: Thousands of men and women are being incarcerated every year because they entered the U.S. without documents.Illegal entry and re-entry — essentially, the crimes of crossing the border without authorization — are now the most-prosecuted federal crimes. ]]

As I posted here a number of months back, this is a not-so-covert attempt to erase the distinctions between "immigration" and "illegal immigration". In the same way that those pushing the argument would all-but eliminate the concept of "a border", as well.

And the other side seems to be winning.

If it wasn't for Donald Trump, all the Pubbie candidates would be trying to sweep this issue under the rug.

Because the RyeKnow version of "immigration reform" does exactly this: it will remove the social stigma and criminality of illegal entry and replace it with "residency", "legalization", or whatever else you wish to call it.

I won't swallow it.
And I sense that there are millions -- tens upon tens of millions -- of other Americans who feel the same way.

[MACVSOG68]

[[ A national bipartisan movement to reduce the United States’ outsized prison population is gaining momentum, but immigration reform advocates say an important piece is still missing from the reform conversation: Thousands of men and women are being incarcerated every year because they entered the U.S. without documents.Illegal entry and re-entry — essentially, the crimes of crossing the border without authorization — are now the most-prosecuted federal crimes. ]]

As I posted here a number of months back, this is a not-so-covert attempt to erase the distinctions between "immigration" and "illegal immigration". In the same way that those pushing the argument would all-but eliminate the concept of "a border", as well.

And the other side seems to be winning.

If it wasn't for Donald Trump, all the Pubbie candidates would be trying to sweep this issue under the rug.

Because the RyeKnow version of "immigration reform" does exactly this: it will remove the social stigma and criminality of illegal entry and replace it with "residency", "legalization", or whatever else you wish to call it.

I won't swallow it.
And I sense that there are millions -- tens upon tens of millions -- of other Americans who feel the same way.

Funny, even Trump has backed off, sensing from his polling he doesn't need all of the persistent inflexibility and refusal to acknowledge what most Americans want...comprehensive immigration reform.  But I will admit, Tanton and his small group of Republican hard-liners have for ten years kept Congress from completing legislation that would make even Tanton happy in terms of enforcement and security, but for selective legalization.

So what did they accomplish.  So far Obama has made a good start on his promise to legalize up to 5 million, but which include many who would never have gotten legalization through legislation.  His ICE is doing little while releasing numerous criminal illegals. 

Good job Tanton.  Hope you like what you and a handful of Pubbies accomplished.