Featured DHS secretary orders immigration agent hiring surge, end to 'catch-and-release'

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...nt-hiring-surge-end-to-catch-and-release.html


DHS secretary orders immigration agent hiring surge, end to 'catch-and-release'


Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly moved Tuesday to implement a host of immigration enforcement changes ordered by President Trump, directing agency heads to hire thousands more officers, end so-called “catch-and-release” policies and begin work on the president’s promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“It is in the national interest of the United States to prevent criminals and criminal organizations from destabilizing border security,” Kelly wrote in one of two memos released Tuesday by the department.

The memos follow up on Trump’s related executive actions from January and, at their heart, aim to toughen enforcement by expanding the categories of illegal immigrants targeted for deportation.


The memos cover a sprawling set of initiatives including:

Prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants and others for deportation, including those convicted or charged with “any criminal offense,” or who have “abused” any public welfare program
Expanding the 287(g) program, which allows participating local officers to act as immigration agents – and had been rolled back under the Obama administration
Starting the planning, design and construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall
Hiring 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officers
Hiring 5,000 Border Patrol agents
Ending “catch-and-release” policies under which illegal immigrants subject to deportation potentially are allowed to “abscond” and fail to appear at removal hearings

 

True. Some of this will need to be funded.

But ending "catch and release" costs nothing. Neither does just allowing ICE and the Border patrol to simply do it's job. "Standing down" and doing nothing is no longer acceptable.

 

Write your congressman, Maybe he can tell you.

 

Dumb comment.

ICE and DHS do not appropriate funds.

Congress does.

 

Not required by the constitution. Congress can appropriate funds on it's own.

 

Why not?

They have frequently done so in the past for many projects.

 

But your point is moot. President Trump , through his executive order has already requested the funds, but most of it will have to wait for the next fiscal year budget.

http://federalnewsradio.com/first-1...programming-pay-border-wall-house-chair-says/

DHS Secretary John Kelly will be responsible for developing the long-term funding requirements for the project and will prepare congressional budget requests for future fiscal years.

“There could be an emergency spending-type bill, like a border surge emergency supplemental bill to basically complete the Secure Fence Act in the beginning, and I think that could come out of emergency spending funding,” McCaul said. “Reprogramming within the Department of Homeland Security will be something we’ll be looking at. I think the dollars, personally, I don’t think they’re there. We can offset some, but not to the tune of the cost. This is probably a $10 billion-20 billion project, and you’re not going to be able to offset that without completely undermining a national security agency. The money is going to have to come from somewhere. Upfront, we could have some emergency spending, whether it’s OCO or some other account, and some reprogramming to pay for this.”


The executive order also calls for DHS to hire 5,000 more border patrol agents, subject to “available appropriations.”

The Office of Personnel Management should take “necessary” and “appropriate action” to meet new hiring needs to meet the requirements of the President’s order.



Now you have your answer about why it hasn't already been done, but suspect you already knew. You just wanted another excuse to criticize.

 

Another really dumb comment.

 

Yep. and that's what's happening.