Support for Immigration Reform Requires Opposition to Unjust Deportations

Judiciary Hearing was lost opportunity to ask DHS Sec about top priority for Immigrants
 
04.23.2013 – Washington, DC.
 
With Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning,  Senators had an opportunity to ask questions about the broken, unjust status quo.   Instead, the hearing today was characterized by  Sen. Chuck Schumer saying, “we certainly need more drones,” while Sen. Feinstein asked questions about student visa fraud and Jeff Flake mocked border crossing migrants to a room full of laughter. 
 

At 2:30pm this afternoon, the Senate Appropriations Committee will have the opportunity for more substantive questioning of the Secretary responsible for unprecedented criminalization and deportation of immigrants and the $18 billion spent annually on enforcement.  

Trapped in the Deportation Machine : The New Yorker

You get arrested. The authorities run a background check. They need to know if you have outstanding warrants or unpaid tickets, if you jumped bail somewhere, check if you’re driving a stolen vehicle. To obtain your criminal history, they routinely send your fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which keeps a database of more than a hundred million prints. The F.B.I., under a federal program known as Se Communities, will share your fingerprints with the Department of Homeland Security.