Judge Rules In Favor Of ICE Agents Suing Obama

Federal Judge Reed O’Conner ruled on Friday that 10 ICE agents and officers indeed do have standing to challenge in Federal court the so-called Morton Memo on prosecutorial discretion and the DREAM directive on deferred action.

The agents filed their complaint in October, charging that unconstitutional and illegal directives from DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton order the agents to violate federal laws or face adverse employment actions. This is a major first step for the ICE agents in their case against the administration!

In his 35-page decision, Judge O’Conner found that the ICE agents and officers have standing, but that the State of Mississippi does not. He has not yet ruled, however, on the agents’ motion for a preliminary injunction to halt implementation of the DHS directives.

The primary impetus for the lawsuit came last June, when Secretary Napolitano issued a memo offering deferred action and employment authorization to illegal aliens under age 31 who meet certain criteria similar to those outlined in the DREAM Act, which has failed to pass Congress on three occasions.

Even before that, though, ICE Director John Morton essentially gutted immigration enforcement by issuing a memo on prosecutorial discretion that, in effect, prohibits ICE agents and officers from arresting or removing any but the most violent criminal aliens. Under Morton’s stated policy, most of the 12 million or so illegal aliens that the administration wants to legalize are currently safe from deportation.

This is just one of the reasons that the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council voted unanimously that they have no confidence in Morton’s ability to lead the agency. Aside from ordering ICE agents to not enforce federal immigration laws, Morton has also gutted worksite enforcement and the 287(g) program, which is a cooperative effort between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.

The 10 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration seeking an end of President Barack Obama’s new non-deportation policy derided as Obama’s Dream Act Light by opponents of his illegal immigration policies, according to the ICE agents’ union.

The ICE agents filed the lawsuit in federal court in one of the state’s most affected by the Obama policy — Texas. The agents allege that President Obama’s policies have reduced the number of illegal aliens who will be deported back to their country of origin.

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Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano’s embattled high-ranking immigration aide took a leave of absence following salacious new claims about the agency’s alleged sexually hostile environment toward men, while Napolitano herself indicated she is pondering stepping down.

Suzanne Barr, who has close Arizona ties to Napolitano, took a “voluntary leave,” according to Brian Hale, spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Barr’s leave, which began Tuesday, comes as two more male accusers claimed they personally witnessed Barr engage in lewd and hostile behavior with subordinates.

In a sworn affidavit obtained by The Post but with the accuser’s name redacted, an ICE employee described as an assistant attaché says at a party at the deputy chief of mission’s house in Colombia in 2009, “He said she got too close for comfort.Suzanne Barr approached me and offered to give me a b— job.”

ICE travel records obtained by The Post confirm Barr traveled to Colombia along with ICE director John Morton between Sept. 20 and Sept. 23, 2009, to meet with Colombian officials and ICE staffers.

An affidavit by another ICE employee states that just before Halloween in 2009, at a gathering in the ICE director’s office, Barr turned to another ICE employee and called him a “sexy mothaf–ker!” Barr also allegedly “looked at his crotch and asked, ‘How long is it anyway?’” prompting other employees to laugh nervously, according to the statement.

Read more from this story HERE.

DHS Secretary Blasts GOP Rep For Peddling Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theories

Janet Napolitano: Unpassed DREAM Act Now the Law

Can you believe the gall of these people in federal office today? We have so many examples of this type thing from this administration I can’t keep up with them. Using the EPA to regulate the unpassed Cap and Trade bill for the one example I can think of right now, but there are more. I’ll add them as I think of them or some reader reminds me of one, I’ll add it as well.

Napolitano: Unpassed DREAM Act Now the Law

Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security Secretary, confessed last week that the Obama administration will not deport illegal-alien students who would have fallen under the protection of the failed DREAM Act (Even though the bill didn’t get passed or signed into law), the amnesty for illegal aliens that traveled under the name of immigration reform.

She made the remarks at a webinar and roundtable on border issues sponsored by NDN, a leftist think tank. The Washington Times reported what she said:

“I will say, and can say, that you know what? They are not, that group, if they truly meet all those criteria, and we see very few of them actually in the immigration system, if they truly meet those [criteria], they’re not the priority,” the secretary said at an event sponsored by NDN, a progressive think tank and advocacy group, on the future of the nation’s border policies.

“The reason we set priorities is so that the focus could be on those in the country who are also committing other illegal acts,” she said. (Admitting that most are in the country illegally and unlawfully)

The practical result of the Obama administration’s policy, as she explained it, is that the DREAM Act is now the law even though Congress did not pass it.(she can’t do that, nor can obama….only Congress can pass laws)

Dream, Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, would have given illegal-alien students the chance to become citizens if they joined the military or went to college for two years, provided they jumped the border as minors and lived in the country for five years before the act was passed. The act permitted a gradual process of naturalization, but it was, in fact, an amnesty that would have permitted a massive increase in immigration.

John Morton, Napolitano’s subordinate and the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, echoed her remarks, the Times reported. “If you take a look at the record, people that fit within the confines of the Dream Act, there are in fact very, very few deportations of those kinds of individuals,” he said.

Border Not Out of Control

Napolitano also claimed that the border with Mexico is not out of control. “It is simply inaccurate to state, as too many have, that the border with Mexico is overrun or out of control,” she said. “This statement — I think sometimes it’s made to score some political points — but it’s wrong. It’s just plain wrong.”

Napolitano is wrong, according to Richard Stana, the director of homeland security issues at the Government Accountability Office. Indeed, Stana told the Senate Homeland Security on March 30, a week after Napolitano’s assertion, that DHS has little to no control over the border.

Stana reported that DHS can stop illegal aliens on less than 150 miles of the border. Across about another 700 miles, it can catch them only after they have crossed.

Stana based his testimony on the Border Patrol’s own assessment.

The American

Big Sis “Need to Know” Documents in FOIA

Political control of public documents?

Investigations Find ‘Unprecedented’ Political Review of FOIA Requests by Homeland Security Department

Friday, April 01, 2011
By Fred Lucas

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)

Washington (CNSNews.com) – A political review of open records requests smacks of “Nixonian” tactics by the Department of Homeland Security, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Thursday.

Two investigations found that Freedom of Information Act requests sent to the DHS were reviewed by Obama administration political appointees.

“Through the course of an eight-month investigation, the committee has learned that political staff under the DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano have corrupted the agency’s FOIA compliance procedures, exerted unlawful political pressure, on FOIA compliance officers, and undermined the federal government’s accountability to the American people,” Issa said.

“These events have nurtured a fragile – and at times hostile – work environment that does not serve to fulfill the department’s primary mission to secure the nation from the many threats we face,” he added.

The department’s Office of Inspector General found that many records requests were filtered through Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s office.

Homeland Security Cancels ‘Virtual Fence’ After $1 Billion Is Spent

I thought that “virtual fence” was the best thing since sliced bread? Now they’re discontinuing it?

The Department of Homeland Security on Friday canceled a project to build a technology-based “virtual fence” across the Southwest border, saying that the effort — on which $1 billion has already been spent — was ineffective and too costly.

Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, said she had decided to end the five-year-old project, known as SBI-Net, because it “does not meet current standards for viability and cost effectiveness.” In a statement, Ms. Napolitano said border agents would instead use less expensive technology that is already part of their surveillance equipment, tailoring it to the specific terrain where they will be scouting for illegal border crossers and drug traffickers.

New York Times

Janet Napolitano’s See Something Supicous-Report it Causes Things like This

Homeland Security’s Janet Napolitano is making so many people so paranoid that things like this are going to begin happening. This is so ridiculous.

Florida professor arrested after carrying suspicious bagel on airplane

If you carry bagels or other food items with you on an airplane these days, you’d better paint them red white and blue just to make sure all the passengers around you know you’re truly an American. Otherwise, they just might turn you in. In yet another case of air passengers turning into in-flight (SS troops), a Florida professor was arrested, handcuffed and removed from a plane when his fellow passengers reported he had a “suspicious-looking bag” in his hands.

The contents of that suspicious-looking bag turned out to be a bagel with cream cheese, a set of keys and a hat.

But in America’s ultra-paranoid environment where the U.S. government actually encourages people to spy on each other (http://www.naturalnews.com/030648_W…), apparently just about anything can set off the suspicions of the citizens’ secret police. Maybe you talk funny, or walk funny or just look funny. Maybe your skin isn’t white. Maybe you speak with some sort of foreign accent which, as all Americans already know, means you must be a terrorist.

Perhaps you pay with cash instead of a credit card. What? Only a terrorist would carry cash! Or maybe you are just “suspiciously minding your own business” and not chatting it up with all the other people around you. That makes you a potential terrorist, too, didn’t you know?

I can’t wait to see how quickly I’ll be arrested on my next flight. I bring superfood powders and a Blender Bottle with that springy metal mixer inside. So during the flight, I’m sitting there mixing water and powders like some sort of mad chemist. Some nutritional noob sitting nearby would no doubt have no clue what was really going on and probably call the flight attendant to report, in secretive tones, “There’s a strange man sitting over there mixing up a bomb!”

And that’s all it would take. The FBI’s anti-terrorism unit would be called out, the plane would be diverted to the nearest landing strip, the on-board Air Marshall would pull a gun on me, and I’d be arrested upon landing, then interrogated for 48 hours under the U.S. Patriot Act (no more Bill of Rights, see?) for the mere act of drinking superfoods on a flight.

Natural News

Trusted Traveler Program Lets Mexicans Skip TSA Airport Security

You just have to ask yourself….what the heck is going on with this TSA stuff and Janet Napolitano. Mexicans and Muslim Women can skip this nonsense with the TSA, but God above forbid you and I skip these naked body scans or pat downs. Making these exceptions violates the 14th amendment. Of course the searches violate the 4th amendment, but who in the government cares about the Constitution anymore or even some judges too. Some how we’ve got to get back to the Constitution and rule of law in stead of this appearance of lawlessness message the government is sending out to us and the world.

Trusted Traveler Program Lets Mexicans Skip Airport Security

As violent drug cartels take over Mexico and expand their criminal enterprises north, the United States has signed a “trusted traveler” agreement that allows pre-screened Mexican airline passengers to bypass lengthy airport security checkpoints.

The foreigners will get “trusted traveler cards” with fingerprints and other biometric data and they must answer customs declarations questions on touch-screen kiosks before leaving airport inspection areas. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claims it’s a way to enhance information sharing and mutual security in the face of “ever-evolving, multinational threats.”

• 

About 84 million Mexicans are expected to qualify for the trusted traveler program, according to Mexico’s Interior Ministry Secretary, who signed the agreement on behalf of his country this week. Celebrating the festive occasion, the Mexican government official assured that the new accord will facilitate the U.S. entry of business travelers and tourists who are key factors in economic development, growth of trade and cultural exchange.

Mexicans will get the perk through the U.S. government’s Global Entry Program, which allows participants to obtain security clearance by presenting a “machine-readable” passport or resident card at airport “Global Entry kiosks.” The machines issue the foreign travelers a transaction receipt and directions to baggage claim and the exit into the United States. Applying is easy. Candidates fill out an online application, provide valid identification and answer a few questions from a Customs and Border Protection officer.

While Napolitano was in Mexico finalizing the trusted traveler agreement this week, she also took the opportunity to sign a “letter of intent” to develop a plan for protecting immigrants from criminal attacks as they cross the border—illegally—into the U.S. Mexican officials have long complained that American law enforcement officers stand by as illegal immigrants are robbed, killed or violently beaten. Napolitano has committed to reducing the risk to life and security of migrants, according to the Mexican minister.

Judical Watch

NJ Legislation Bans TSA Scanners and Criminalizes Unreasonable Searches and Invasive Pat Downs

Since the Federal Government & TSA won’t obey the Constitution (4th amendment in this case) it is causing States to counter their unconstitutional actions like this, the Firearms Freedom act passed by several states and State legislation prohibiting Obamacare from being in force in several States. Now we are seeing an example of what the southern states saw happening to them with unfair taxation before the civil war when they finally decided to secede from the union and it may one day come to that again. We’ll see. Before that happens maybe the Tea Party movement legislators can get a handle on these unconstitutional  power grabs.

New Jersey Senator Michael Doherty (R-Warren, Hunterdon) announced today that he has introduced three pieces of legislation drafted to eliminate any immunity TSA agents might enjoy when violating New Jersey law during unnecessary and invasive airport screenings:

“For more than a month now, the TSA has quite literally stuck their finger in the eye of law-abiding American citizens while trampling on their constitutionally guaranteed liberties,” Doherty stated. “We call upon every state legislature in our great country to immediately act to put our federal government on notice that the dignity of our citizens shall not be the cost of a failed federal open border policy.”

The following bills were introduced:

• Makes certain body searches third degree crime of sexual assault under certain circumstances. View as PDF.
• Prohibits use of body imaging scanners to screen passengers and airline crew members. View as PDF.
• Specifies that certain images generated by body scans violate State statutes, prohibiting invasion of privacy, pornography, and endangerment of child welfare under certain circumstances. View as PDF.

“All of these bills remove any claim that TSA agents are immune to any state statutes that they violate when searching passengers or crew,” Doherty concluded. “If we don’t take strong action against these violations, where will it lead? Today planes, tomorrow trains and buses, what then? Will the drive to the market be viewed as a ‘privilege,’ the walk to church? Will we stand upon the slippery slope of paranoia that leads to invasive searches becoming a way of daily life, or say ‘No’ and defend our rights to privacy now while we still have them.”

Senator Doherty has launched an online petition to support his efforts to stop invasive TSA screening procedures at http://www.stopthetsa.org.

Senator Michael Doherty

 

Welcome Home, boys: TSA Gone Stupid,“Interrogates” our Soldiers

Well just one more of example that just when you think you’ve heard it all. This is another good reason to abolish the TSA  and put an end to their stupidness and unconstitutional searches. This is a true story to what happened to our soldiers on their way home from war.

Welcome Home boys, while the TSA “Interrogates” Our Soldiers

from the email bag:

As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following:

When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards. Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That’s where the stupid started.

First, everyone was forced to get off the plane-even though the plane wasn’t refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine.

It’s probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren’t loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.

The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo-just to inspect us again: Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN.

This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.

So we’re in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they’re going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:

TSA Guy: You can’t take those on the plane.

Soldier: What? I’ve had them since we left country.

TSA Guy: You’re not suppose to have them.

Soldier: Why?

TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.

Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I’m allowed to take it on.

TSA Guy: Yeah but you can’t use it to take over the plane. You don’t have bullets.

Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?

TSA Guy: [awkward silence]

Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the f**k out of here. I’ll buy you a new set.

Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security]

To top it off, the tsa demanded we all be swabbed for “explosive residue” detection. Everyone failed, [go figure, we just came home from a war zone], because we tested positive for “Gun Powder Residue”. Who the F**K is hiring these people?

This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns-but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.

Can someone please tell me What the F**K happened to OUR country while we were gone? (The idiots are in charge, that’s what)

Sgt. Mad Dog Tracy

The East Side Patriot