May 20, 2008

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) tries tying ICE's hands on immigration raids; Mexico-linked ACLU cheers

Rep. Lynn Woolsey, Democrat from Petaluma, California and chairwoman of the Workforce Protection Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee (some background here), held a hearing this morning regarding ICE raids (link):

Congress should enact legislation giving more teeth to existing federal guidelines aimed at ensuring that children's needs are considered when their parents are arrested in raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enfocement agents [Woolsey said]. The agency's November 2007 guidelines outlining humanitarian concerns to be addressed during raids "are not being followed in a consistent fashion," [she said].

If you listen to her 30-second whine here, it's easy to tell what she's getting at: she doesn't have much interest in immigration laws being enforced.

That belief is buttressed by the fact that the American Civil Liberties Union - an organization collaborating with the Mexican government to possibly sue the U.S. government - has issued a press release commending her actions (aclu.org/immigrants/gen/35397prs20080520.html):

Since late 2006 the Department of Homeland Security Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) section has undertaken an unprecedented campaign of immigration raids in homes, and worksites. The ACLU has challenged the legality and constitutionality of many of these raids including worksite raids conducted in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Van Nuys, California... "ICE's immigration raids have been so sweeping that they have ensnared U.S. citizens, including innocent children, in their dragnet," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "There are no regulations controlling ICE's reckless raids, and ICE routinely violates due process while conducting raids."

Joanne Lin, ACLU Legislative Counsel, also weighs in with a quote.

Discrediting the ACLU is easier than discrediting Woolsey, but either would have a salubrious impact. See the last link for some questions you can ask them in public and preferably on video.

UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi's blog (?!) links to a PDF with Woolsey's opening whine (speaker.gov/blog/?p=1349, "...we are still hearing heartbreaking stories of the impact on children... ...They have been separated from their families in the cruelest of ways for long periods of time and many of their parents have been deported...", etc. etc.) as well as a video of the remarks of Simon Romo, Chief Counsel for New Mexico Child Protective Services (link). I left the following comment on the last:

We'll always have immigration laws and they'll always be enforced. So, if these two actually cared about children they'd discourage mixed-status families, and the only way to do that is to support our immigration laws and their enforcement.

Instead, they're opposing immigration enforcement, something that will make the situation worse and increase the number of mixed-status families.

Both are simply corrupt, just for slightly different reasons.

Posted to Immigration2008a at May 20, 2008 03:42 PM