The law of unintended consequences: Russell Pearce’s guest-worker program

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Jim Small from the Arizona Capitol Times thought to do something that Republican legislators apparently never thought to do — speak to immigration law attorneys to learn how the federal immigration system works and how SB 1070 might impact the federal immigration system. Trespassing Law May Turn More Immigrants Into Citizens:

Arizona’s new immigration law may have been aimed at deporting as
many illegal immigrants as possible, but an ironic side effect will
allow more undocumented residents to apply for temporary work visas and
permanent U.S. citizenship, according to research by the Arizona
Capitol Times.

The new law will add to a processing backlog that already has caused
federal authorities to release an increasing number of illegal
immigrants back into the U.S. to await deportation hearings. And if
nationwide figures can be applied to Arizona, one in four of those who
are released from federal custody fail to appear in court.

The arrest-and-release policy is a little-known part of federal
immigration law that allows illegal immigrants to challenge deportation
and obtain legal residency, and a driver’s license, as long as they meet
certain conditions. If more illegal immigrants are apprehended and
processed through the federal system – which is expected to happen after
Arizona’s immigration law takes effect on July 29 – then an even
greater number would qualify for legal status.

Ah yes, the law of unintended consequences.

Right now, federal immigration courts are backed up so severely that
it can take as many as five years to schedule trials for illegal
immigrants who challenge deportation, and the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities are so overloaded that thousands of
illegal immigrants are released back into Arizona each year to live and
work while waiting for a deportation hearing.

More than 5,100 illegal immigrants who were processed through federal
immigration courts in Arizona were released from custody on bond in
2009, and the vast majority were eligible for work authorization
documents, although precise figures were not available.

In some cases, illegal immigrants may be granted some form of relief,
including permanent citizenship, after they’ve been turned over to ICE.

Last year, federal judges granted legal residency to 29,000 illegal
immigrants nationwide. In Arizona, more than 3,600 immigration hearings
were initiated by an application for relief, and more than 900 illegal
immigrants were granted temporary residency or permanent citizenship.

Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) believed he had crafted a bill that will make illegal immigrants in Arizona from Mexico want to "self deport" back to Mexico. In fact, Pearce's bill creates an inverse incentive to illegal immigrants to get caught in order to participate in the federal arrest-and-release program, and the constitutional due process to which they are entitled in federal court (and the long delays in court proceedings).

“I call SB1070, ‘Russell Pearce’s guest-worker program.’ You’ll have so
many people who will be eligible (for release) and employment
authorization documents,” said Kevin Gibbons, an immigration attorney
who ran unsuccessfully against Pearce for the District 18 Senate seat in
2008.

Here is how the immigration arrest-and-release process works:

When an illegal immigrant is picked up and ICE takes custody of the
person, a background check determines whether the immigrant will be
deported or sent to court for a deportation hearing. Deportation occurs
quickly – usually within 24 hours – if the person had been deported
previously, or if he or she has committed an aggravated felony, such as
rape or drug trafficking.

Illegal immigrants with clean records are usually transported to one
of the two ICE facilities in central Arizona – a federal detention
center is in Florence, and a private facility is in Eloy – to await a
hearing before an immigration judge. Once removal proceedings begin,
illegal immigrants can petition for relief and become eligible for a
release from detention, work documents and even a driver’s license.

Federal judges then determine whether to hold illegal immigrants in
ICE custody or release them, either with a bond or on their own
recognizance. Bond amounts typically range between $3,000 and $5,000,
though it can be higher if the immigrant has a criminal record.

However, because of overcrowding at the federal facilities in
Arizona, which combine to hold only about 1,900 people, ICE often
releases immigrants on bond without waiting for a judge.

* * *

Many of the illegal immigrants who are given temporary residency
while awaiting a hearing also qualify to apply for permanent residency.
Often, that is done by applying for one of the forms of relief outlined
in federal law, the most common of which is called “cancellation of
removal.”

The standard for cancellation of removal is high, Goldman said.
Immigrants must prove they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10
consecutive years, demonstrate “good moral character,” pass a criminal
background check showing no felony convictions, and establish that
deportation would result in an “exceptional and extremely unusual
hardship” to a spouse, parent or child who is a citizen or legal
permanent resident.

* * *

Illegal immigrants who are released on bond may receive temporary
work visas that are valid for one year. In many cases, the one-year
visas are extended several times due to the backlog in federal
immigration courts, which have been overcrowded for years because there
are only five immigration judges in the state – three in Phoenix and two
in Tucson.

Already, final hearings in cases are being scheduled for 2013 and
beyond. During that time, the immigrants released from custody are able
to stay in the country and work legally.

* * *

The delays in the system will only get worse if local law enforcement
officers begin rounding up illegal immigrants and turning them over to
ICE to begin deportation proceedings, said Asser, the attorney from
Phoenix.

“If you’re putting in an extra 1,000 people, it may take five years,”
he said. “If you’re talking about the entire illegal population of
Phoenix, it may be 2035. Who knows?”

So you can thank Sen. Pearce for this unintended "guest worker program." Of course, Pearce doesn't accept any responsibility, he never does. Pearce always has a group to demonize and scapegoat for his own shortcomings and failures, in this case immigration law attorneys.

Pearce said the log jam in the immigration courts is the fault of immigration attorneys.

“They tie up the system and play games. They fabricate issues or exaggerate issues,” he said. “It’s a system designed by attorneys to benefit the system, and they clog the system.”

Sen. Pearce likes to tell anyone who will listen how he is all about the Constitution and law and order. But his sneering disdain for constitutional due process and the justice system belies this claim. This is a man driven by the demons of prejudice and a desire for retribution against a group of people he demonizes and scapegoats as the source of all of Arizona's problems.

It's time for the voters of Mesa to end this embarrassment to the state of Arizona, and to throw this bigoted demagogue out of office.