Speech #1090157568

It is important when we apprehend them to detain them. Let me quote from a June 22 letter from me to the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Chertoff: ... because DHS lacks the detention space to hold OTMs [other than Mexican nationals] it necessarily releases 70 percent of them into the interior of the United States with a Notice to Appear for an immigration hearing. Approximately 70 percent of those released failed to appear for their hearings. of those who do appear. 85 percent fail to comply with final orders of removal and remain illegally in the United States. In effect. therefore. our national policy amounts to "catch and release." and raises significant national security concerns. Moreover. it does nothing to deter further illegal immigration by OTMs. Indeed. it may have the opposite effect: A June 4th article in the San Diego Union Tribune indicates that Brazilians. who make up a large portion of the OTMs. actively seek out border patrol agents after Illegally crossing the border. so that they may get a Notice to Appear and pass unmolested into the interior. In other words. it is actually a benefit for these people who have a piece of paper with them that. in effect. frees them from additional apprehension during this period of time prior to their notice to appear. When the time period is up and they are supposed to actually appear. they are gone. In the meantime. they basically had a free pass to travel wherever they want in the United States. unmolested by the Border Patrol or law enforcement. In a November 15. 2005. letter to Secretary Chertoff. I joined Senators MCCAIN. HUTCHISON. and CORNYN in advising the Secretary that: ... the Department should immediately resolve the "catch and release" practice. under which these nonMexican illegal aliens are released into the interior due to lack of detention space. The result of that was an effort by the Department of Homeland Security to identify what was necessary in order to achieve the goal. As I said. their determination was 6.700 beds. the number called for in the administrations budget.