Leaked Memos, Inspector General Report Raise Serious Concerns about "Misguided Enforcement In Our Communities"

April 8, 2010

Press Contact: Douglas Rivlin (202) 225-8203

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) requested a meeting with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton to discuss his "extreme disappointment and unequivocal condemnation of the series of reports...regarding DHS and ICE enforcement activities."

Specifically, the Congressman wants to know why what the Secretary and Assistant Secretary are saying to Congress and the American people is so at odds with what has been revealed about what the agency is actually doing.

The Congressman's request comes after a series of internal ICE memos were published by the Washington Post that indicate that the job performance of ICE enforcement officers is measured by arrest quotas for immigrants with simple civil immigration status violations and an Inspector General's scathing report on the program, known as 287(g), by which state and local police agencies are enlisted to enforce federal civil and criminal immigration laws.

I am astounded by how inconsistent these reports are with your stated priorities, and am left to wonder what your true priorities are, or to what degree agency directors and agents in the field actually understand and/or follow your stated priorities...

I consider the recent reports to be both a crisis of leadership at the agency and a human crisis in our communities and ask to meet with you as soon as possible next week.

The full text of the letter is attached as a pdf file.

In December, Congressman Gutierrez introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform - American Security and Prosperity (CIR-ASAP) Act (HR 4321), which would, among other things, rescind 287(g) agreements. The bill currently has 94 cosponsors.

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Letter to Secretary Napolitano and Assistant Secretary Morton