Reform This

Catch and release cat and mouse continues apace:

Beefed-up enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border since Sept. 11, 2001, has substantially increased the number of arrests of illegal immigrants, but tens of thousands of captured non-Mexicans continue to be released into the United States because there is no place to hold them, according to experts and immigration officials.

The vast majority simply slip away inside the country after being issued "Notices to Appear" for a deportation hearing - documents known to Border Patrol agents as "Notices to Disappear." The success of border crossers who stay in the United States through this "catch-and-release" process has encouraged others who hope to enter the country the same way.

In a dozen speeches since October, President Bush has vowed to replace catch-and-release with the "catch-and-return" of 160,000 "other than Mexican" immigrants arrested each year. The goal is to deny court hearings to all but asylum-seekers, speed deportations and make the most of limited detention space in jails, prisons and immigration centers.

...

"What Congress has built is one of the most expensive revolving doors in the world," said Victor Cerda, former chief of staff of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Without broader changes, he said, "You're going to be here in 10 years, with another 20 million aliens."

Annoying: A WaPo editorial by a Duke professor and recent immigrant tells us all to just shut up and start learning Spanish.

I don't know about you, but I for one love it when I invite people over and then they immediately begin rearranging the furniture to their liking.

posted by Ace at 03:24 PM

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