by Pamela Powers Hannley The ACLU is claiming that, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), young people eligible for deferred deportation are "authorized to stay and lawfully present in the country" — not "illegal people." Within the last year, Governor Jan Brewer had issued an executive order stating that Dreamers were not eligible to … Read more
Although gun enthusiasts threatened to disrupt last week's Ward 6 Roast, the event featuring a dozen politicians who represent midtown/downtown Tucson came off without a hitch.
Organized by City Councilman Steve Kozachik and moderated by political cartoonist and commentator David Fitzsimmons, the roast featured local, state, and federal politicians answering questions from the audience, which numbered about 400. Rather than severely edit nearly two hours of video, I have created separate videos for candidate introductions, the immigration reform question, the gun violence question, the F35 question, and the neighborhoods/roads questions. Watch the first three videos after the jump. More to come.
For me, the biggest surprise of the evening– besides how outnumbered former State Legislator Frank Antenori and the gun nuts were– was Congressman Ron Barber. Check out his responses to the questions on immigration reform and gun violence; he sounds far less Republican than he has in the past on those issues.
A detailed new report release by the Migration Policy Institute reveals the sophistication and cost– both human and monetary– of the United States' immigration policy in recent years.
According to the nearly 200-page report, the US system is based upon 6 pillars: border enforcement; visa controls and travel screening; information and interoperability of data systems; workplace enforcement; intersection between criminal justice system and immigration enforcement; and detention and removal of noncitizens. Each area is described in detail.
The report includes a wealth of information about the intricacies of the Department of Homeland Security and how immigration enforcement intersects with the criminal justice system, the FBI, and the CIA. Probably the most dramatic finding is:
The US government spends more on its immigration enforcement agencies than on all its other principal criminal federal law enforcement agencies combined. In FY 2012, spending for CBP [Customs and Border Protection], ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], and US-VISIT reached nearly $18 billion. This amount exceeds by approximately 24 percent total spending for the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Secret Service, US Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which stood at $14.4 billion in FY 2012.
Judging by resource levels, case volumes, and enforcement actions…immigration enforcement can thus be seen to rank as the federal government's highest criminal law enforcement priority.
Whoa. More key findings after the jump.
Today, the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) is meeting on the University of Arizona campus. One of ABOR's most infamous members is former Senator Dennis DeConcini.
Why is DeConcini being villified through social media and the blogs? Because he's also a stockholder and member of the Board of Directors of the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), which builds, owns, and manages private prisons across the country.
Arizona has multiple CCA prisons— thanks to close ties between CCA and Governor Jan Brewer, former State Senate President Russell Pearce, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) boosters in the Arizona Legislature, and DeConcini. More background and a video shot on the UA campus, after the jump.
Private prisons are a "infecting our nation like a virus," according to Florida activists who are fighting against the construction of one of the nation's largest immigrant deportation centers.
From their website…
We do not agree with the federal government privatizing our immigration detention centers throughout the nation when there is clear evidence that privatizing our prisons creates a clear public safety threat. For ICE to continue to privatize these institutions and bring this safety threat through their "secure communities Initiative" to our community is unacceptable. Depriving someone of their liberty is a non-delegable governmental function and privatizing of such a function is infecting our nation like a virus.
What about Arizona? Governor Jan Brewer and many in the Arizona Legislature are loyal private prison boosters— to the detriment of our residents. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) runs six private prisons in Arizona. In addition to the well-know immigrant detention centers, CCA also runs DUI prisons. CCA likes to have all of their beds full. Is it any wonder, then, that Arizona has some of the toughest immigration laws and toughest drunk driving laws? Watch anti-CCA protesters in Florida after the jump.