Closure of Border Patrol stations across four states triggers alarm

[Casino67]

Foxnews.com:

 

The Obama administration is moving to shut down nine Border Patrol stations across four states, triggering a backlash from local law enforcement, members of Congress and Border Patrol agents themselves.

 

Critics of the move warn the closures will undercut efforts to intercept drug and human traffickers in well-traveled corridors north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Though the affected stations are scattered throughout northern and central Texas, and three other states, the coverage areas still see plenty of illegal immigrant activity -- one soon-to-be-shuttered station in Amarillo, Texas, is right in the middle of the I-40 corridor; another in Riverside, Calif., is outside Los Angeles.

 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it's closing the stations in order to reassign agents to high-priority areas closer to the border.

 

"These deactivations are consistent with the strategic goal of securing America's borders, and our objective of increasing and sustaining the certainty of arrest of those trying to enter our country illegally," CBP spokesman Bill Brooks said in a statement. "By redeploying and reallocating resources at or near the border, CBP will maximize the effectiveness of its enfor

 

 

[raygun]

[Geee]

ICE Chief Says Suspension of Immigration Enforcement Program in Arizona Was ‘Not Political’

 

(CNSNews.com) – The administration’s decision to end agreements with law enforcement agencies in Arizona just hours after the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling on the state’s immigration law was not a political move, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton told lawmakers Tuesday.

Under section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, state and local law enforcement forces can partner with ICE to enforce immigration laws in their jurisdictions.

Immediately following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Arizona Senate Bill 1070, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suspended 287 (g) programs with the state’s law enforcement agencies.

The landmark decision deemed most of SB 1070’s provisions unconstitutional, but upheld the provision allowing Arizona law enforcement to request documentation from individuals suspected to be in the United States illegally.

During a hearing Tuesday of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on border and maritime security, vice-chairman Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) asked Morton about the decision to suspend 287 (g) agreements in the state.

“I find it a little concerning that you recently gotten rid of the 287(g) agreement with Arizona state and local law enforcement agencies,” Quayle said. “What is the reasoning behind it? Why pick Arizona as the sole one right now, to actually remove a program that, you said, was an essential component of DHS’s comprehensive immigration enforcement strategy?”

 

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ice-chief-says-suspension-immigration-enforcement-program-arizona-was-not-political