Arizona senators John McCain and Senator Jeff Flake sent a letter on Tuesday, to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson requesting answers about how exactly does DHS manage the release of undocumented immigrant detainees and respond to security risks on the southern border. The request follows a new report released by the DHS Inspector General, which raised concerns for the two lawmakers, who have up – until Tuesday – virtually ignored the concerns of the people in Arizona living along the southern border.
The lawmakers are concerned about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s February 2013 release of 2,226 detainees – many with criminal records – without guidance from DHS or other administration officials.
“Post-apprehension policies with regard to detainees are even more important in the criminal detainee context,” write Senators McCain and Flake. “Just a week ago, two undocumented immigrants from Mexico—who have reportedly each been deported multiple times—were rearrested and charged with the first-degree murder of off-duty U.S. Border Patrol Agent Javier Vega, Jr., in Texas. Last month, an undocumented immigrant who had been deported four times was able to reenter the United States and remain undiscovered until the day he was arrested for molesting a nine-year old girl. In May, an undocumented immigrant with prior criminal convictions in the U.S. was driving on the wrong side of the road with three times the legal blood-alcohol content when he struck and killed Sergeant Brandon Mendoza of the Mesa Police Department. These incidents come a year after another previously deported undocumented immigrant killed Phoenix police officer Daryl Raetz in a hit-and-run collision.
“These disturbing cases raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of our current immigration system and the safety of our citizens who live near the border. We cannot secure our border communities if DHS fails to coordinate the activities of its component agencies or act on intelligence indicating new risks,” they wrote.
For years, the residents of southern Arizona have pleaded with the lawmakers to recognize their fears and act to increase border security. Resident have heard promises to “build the danged fence,” but those promises have been empty. Now that the two lawmakers want to grant amnesty through immigration reform on behalf of the chambers of commerce, they must talk about safety in order to win the public’s support for reforms.
August 12, 2014
VIA U.S. MAIL & EMAIL
The Honorable Jeh Johnson
Secretary of Homeland Security
U. S. Department of Homeland Security
Nebraska Avenue Complex
3801 Nebraska Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20528Dear Secretary Johnson:
In furtherance of our oversight interest in post-apprehension practices in the border security and immigration systems, we write to request information on policies relating to deportees. Events over the past year have raised concerns about the effectiveness of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in managing and responding to security risks associated with our southern border.
Today, the DHS Inspector General issued a report detailing concerns surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) February 2013 release of 2,226 undocumented immigrant detainees. The report found that those releases occurred without guidance from DHS or other administration officials and was not properly planned beforehand. As a result, 54 of the released detainees had to be recaptured after ICE officials reviewed their files.
Post-apprehension policies with regard to detainees are even more important in the criminal detainee context. Just a week ago, two undocumented immigrants from Mexico—who have reportedly each been deported multiple times—were rearrested and charged with the first-degree murder of off-duty U.S. Border Patrol Agent Javier Vega, Jr., in Texas. Last month, an undocumented immigrant who had been deported four times was able to reenter the United States and remain undiscovered until the day he was arrested for molesting a nine-year old girl. In May, an undocumented immigrant with prior criminal convictions in the U.S. was driving on the wrong side of the road with three times the legal blood-alcohol content when he struck and killed Sergeant Brandon Mendoza of the Mesa Police Department. These incidents come a year after another previously deported undocumented immigrant killed Phoenix police officer Daryl Raetz in a hit-and-run collision.
These disturbing cases raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of our current immigration system and the safety of our citizens who live near the border. We cannot secure our border communities if DHS fails to coordinate the activities of its component agencies or act on intelligence indicating new risks.
In order to address these issues, please answer the following questions:
1.Regarding the DHS Inspector General report, what concrete steps will DHS take to ensure that unplanned releases of detainees do not occur in the future?
2.Since 2009, how many criminal undocumented immigrants have immigration authorities detained for reentering the United States after being deported? Of those, how many were detained in Arizona and what was the final disposition of the Arizona detainees’ cases?
3.What percentage of criminal undocumented immigrants who are deported have subsequently been detained for attempting to reenter the United States? Is that percentage increasing or decreasing? If that percentage is increasing, how does DHS plan to address that problem?
4.When a criminal undocumented immigrant is deported, what mechanisms are in place to deter that individual from attempting to reenter the United States?
5.What percentage of individuals subject to removal by ICE, both detainees and non-detainees, who have received final orders of removal are actually removed?
6.What percentage of individuals who have been apprehended by Border Patrol and given a Notice to Appear do not appear for their court date? Has that percentage been increasing or decreasing? If that percentage has been increasing, how does DHS plan to address that problem?
7.What percentage of undocumented immigrants take part in the Alternative to Detention Program (ATD) administered by ICE? For those who are not in ATD, what efforts are made to ensure that they appear for their assigned court dates? How successful are those efforts?Thank you for your attention to this important matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please have your staff contact Jack Thorlin (Senator McCain) at 202/224-XXXX or Chandler Morse (Senator Flake) at 202/224-XXXX.
Sincerely,
Jeff Flake
United States SenatorJohn McCain
Ranking Minority Member
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations