Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Senator presses DHS chief on transporting smuggled kids, likens to ‘Furious’ scandal

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The Obama administration’s alleged practice of transporting smuggled children to their illegal immigrant parents in the U.S. has caught the attention of Congress, with a Republican senator likening the practice to the “disastrous” Operation Fast and Furious.
In a letter obtained by FoxNews.com, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., asked newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson a string of questions about the apparent policy. The practice came to light last month after a federal judge in Texas claimed immigration agents were intercepting human smugglers transporting children at the U.S.-Mexico border -- and then delivering those children to illegal immigrant parents in the U.S.
“I am shocked to learn that the federal government is a participant in an international human smuggling conspiracy,” Vitter wrote. “I cannot imagine a case in which such a policy would be in accordance with the established mission of the Department, particularly since this encourages additional smuggling and the sometimes extreme abuse of the smuggled children involved.”
In a court order last month, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen voiced concern about the unintended consequences of such a practice. Vitter echoed those concerns in his letter.
Further, the senator raised the specter of Operation Fast and Furious, where federal agents allowed guns to be illegally trafficked, only to watch those guns show up at numerous crime scenes – including that of the murder of a U.S. border agent.
“I am particularly surprised that a federal agency would assist an international criminal conspiracy after the disastrous Operation Fast & Furious directly resulted in the heinous murder of CBP Agent Brian Terry in December 2010,” Vitter wrote.
Like Hanen, he noted that those being smuggled across the border face abuse and dangerous conditions, and said “easing the ability of immigrants to illegally enter and remain in the United States only encourages greater numbers of illegal border crossings.”
He asked how long the practice has been in place, how many times this has happened, and what statute authorizes it.
The situation is likely more complicated and involves more agencies than the judge’s order made it sound. While Hanen focused on the Department of Homeland Security, officials say minors are typically handed over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, within the Department of Health and Human Services.
Thousands of illegal immigrant children and teens are caught trying to enter the United States, and often sent to federally-run care centers while their status is determined.
The question is whether the Obama administration is engaging in a risky practice by delivering some children to their parents. Critics argue that the practice would only encourage more parents to have their children smuggled over the border, through operations often connected to the drug cartels.
Administration officials defended their actions last month.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a December statement that it was following the law, and that its officers are committed to the "safe, fair and humane treatment" of minors.”
The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement also defended the role of federal agents.
“While the court’s comments did not relate specifically to ICE, it is clear that the transportation of unaccompanied children (UAC) by ICE personnel is appropriate and legal,” acting Director John Sandweg wrote in a brief email to staff, obtained by FoxNews.com.

Questions arise over Obama's pick for Justice post



Critics of President Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division have described Debo Adegbile as “radical,” “dangerous” and “outside the mainstream.” Now he is facing heated criticism for his role in getting convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence overturned during his time as a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF).  
Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
Adegbile was asked about the case during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week and replied, "It's important, I think, to understand that in no way does that legal representation, zealously as an advocate, cast any aspersion or look past the grievous loss of Sergeant Faulkner."
His critics, including Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., disagree. According to Fitzpatrick, "[Abu-Jamal's] attorneys ...  attended a rally in Philadelphia and said that they could not have been prouder than to have had the opportunity not to represent justice, not to fight for the Constitution, but to represent Mumia Abu-Jamal."
Faulkner's widow, Maureen, says she is "outraged" by Obama’s decision to nominate Adegbile to such an important post.  "To have a man who defended a murderer, someone who murdered a police officer with premeditation and malice, is a radical, is a Black Panther, and to give him an appointment, to nominate him, to the Department of Justice, I mean it's a disgrace."
Adegbile is senior counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., praised his "calm demeanor" and ability to "build consensus."
Leahy added, "He is a careful lawyer and good listener."
Dozens of organizations, led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, penned a letter of support to the Senate as well - calling Adegbile "a tireless advocate, a skilled litigator, and a well-respected member of the legal community who is extraordinarily qualified for and suited to this position."
At the same time, Ed Whelan, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, contends there are questions about Adegbile's qualifications. There were reports that President Obama intended to nominate him to serve as a judge on the D.C. Circuit back in 2011, and that Adegbile was submitted to the American Bar Association (ABA) for a rating.  Whelan says Adegbile didn't make it past the ABA's qualification screening.
Skeptics are also publicly speculating about whether Adegbile is the best fit to head up a department that has been the subject of much recent criticism.  Last year the Justice Department's Inspector General released a report blasting the Civil Rights Division, citing inappropriateconduct, harassment of conservatives in the division, and the appearance of partisanship and racial politics.
Many wonder why the White House would tap such a controversial nominee when the Division is in need of a public relations boost.
Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow with the Heritage Foundation, believes the White House doesn't care about the public perception and says the administration sees the Division as "a tool to be used ... to do things like win elections."
He also says of Adegbile,,"He filed a brief in the Supreme Court in a case in which he said it was okay for universities to discriminate against white students because of their race in college admissions and said employers should not be able to do criminal background checks."
However, both Adegbile's supporters and detractors believe he will successfully navigate the Senate votes necessary to be confirmed to head up the Civil Rights Division in the near future.

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