August 23, 2012

Vitter Supports ICE Agents Lawsuit Against Administration

ICE officials say administration is undermining border protection and enforcement

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter said he supports the lawsuit filed today by ten law enforcement agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement against Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano for the administration’s directive commanding agents to release certain illegal aliens.
 
“These agents’ mission is to keep our borders secure, but the head of their agency is directing them otherwise, telling them to undermine their missions and contradict immigration law,” Vitter said. “I’m fully supportive of their efforts today. They just want to do their job, keeping our borders secure. It’s not necessary to rewrite the law on this one; it’s a matter of the administration upholding the current immigration laws.”

The administration’s directive issued on June 15, 2012 instructs border security agents and law enforcement officers to refrain from placing certain illegal aliens into the deportation process and to take steps to defer action on illegal aliens. It also directs Homeland Security personnel to grant employment authorization to certain illegal aliens. The administration did not consult with Congress before unilaterally making this major change to America’s immigration policy.

The lawsuit filed today seeks to prevent the Obama administration from forcing ICE agents to undermine federal law and would protect agents from being subject to disciplinary action for simply enforcing current law.

On July 25, 2012 U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) along with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) hosted a press conference featuring the presidents of both the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council and the National Border Patrol Council, to call attention to the actions taken by the administration that have undermined their agencies’ missions and border security. Click here to read more about the event.

Vitter serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate Border Security and Enforcement First Immigration Caucus.