Speech #1140008142

Here are just some of the highlights that I circled and looked at. This was the Bellingham. WA. case I just mentioned. detaining 28 illegal immigrants who were using false. fake Social Security documents. On January 29. 2009. in April of 2009. and June of 2009. the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano delays the EVerify deadlines. EVerify is a system by which businesses are supposed to check a persons Social Security Number to find out if it is valid before they hire them. Many times we know people have used false Social Security Numbers to get work. She delayed that. Then she delayed it again in April. and delayed it again in June. In June of 2010. the ICE unionthe Immigration and Customs Enforcement officersthey are three basic groups: the ICE group. there is the Border Patrol group. and the Citizenship and Immigration Services group that processes the paperwork. The ICE union cast a unanimous vote of "no confidence" in the agency Homeland Security leadership. including ICE Director John Morton and Assistant Director Phyllis Coven. citing "the growing dissatisfaction and concern among ICE employees" that they "have abandoned the Agencys"-ICEs-" core mission of enforcing United States Immigration Laws and providing for public safety. and have instead directed their attention to campaigning for programs and policies related to amnesty." He said the policy of this governmentnot what we as sworn officers are supposed to be enforcing. but the policy of our leaders is to spend all their time campaigning for policies related to amnesty and undermining enforcement. ICE officers went so far. colleagues. as to file a lawsuit in Federal court contending they were being ordered to violate the law by their supervisors. A judge expressed sympathy for them but eventually decided they didnt have standing to proceed with the case. but I think it is still on appeal. In 2011. at a roundtable with amnesty advocates. President Obama admitted his deportation statistics were misleading. Indeed. they have been. They claim they have increased deportation. but that is totally incorrect. They finally had to admit it. In February of 2012 President Obama slashed the budget for the 287(g) Program. a program that I helped advocate for and moved forward when I came to the Senate 10 years ago.