ICE and the Immigration Judges

by emptywheel

The LAT and the WaPo both have stories reporting that BushCo was illegally using partisan affiliation in the hiring of immigration judges, even before Monica Goodling came along. Here's the LAT:

Over the last two years, U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has appointed more than two dozen individuals as federal immigration judges.

The new jurists include a former treasurer of the Louisiana Republican Party, who was a legal advisor to the Bush Florida recount team after the 2000 presidential election. There is also a former GOP congressional aide who had tracked voter fraud issues for the Justice Department, and a Texan appointed by then-Gov. George W. Bush to a seat on the state library commission.

One thing missing on many of their resumes: a background in immigration law.

These lawyers are among a growing number of the nation's more than 200 immigration judges who have little or no experience in the law they were appointed to enforce.

The admission by former Justice Department official Monica M. Goodling this week that federal immigration judges were screened for their political credentials and loyalty to the Republican Party in possible violation of civil service laws is drawing new attention to the usually low-profile immigration bench. [my emphasis]

While you're reading those articles, I'd invite you to keep this post in mind, where I pointed out that ICE seems to be subpoenaing voter rolls an awful lot lately. I can imagine that it would be very useful to have solid party shills as immigration judges-especially ones with a background in "voter fraud"--if you were using ICE to trump up voter fraud cases.

Comments

[Mimikatz]

Not only that, I'm sure these folks will be very sympathetic to concerns such as that her in CA of an American citizen child left alone in custody for hours after its mother was taken into custody by ICE agents despite pleas from family members that the chyild was a citizen and they could care for it. (Can't remember if it was a girl or boy). This was in Richmond, CA. But very sympathetic to employers, if they are carrying out the priorities of the WH.

[Dismayed]

The more you look there is just no getting around GWB, ROVE and the RNC's actions as a coup against the democratic system of the US. I don't any longer see any difference between the terms 'permanent majority' and '1000 year reich'. What do you have to do the get the MSM and the people at large to wake up to what has gone on here. It's really chilling when you get just a glimpse of the scope of what these people have been doing.

[Sara]

Mimikatz, the cases last December here in Minnesota were equally awful. They were just before Christmas, and about 12 children who are citizens were essentially out in the cold. The local Catholic Church provided some sort of Christmas and shelter, but ICE was brutal.

One case involved a severely handicapped child requiring constant nursing care, the child was a US Citizen, and qualified for Minnesota Care -- a low income health insurance program for the working poor. Mom was the breadwinner, but undocumented, the father and maternal grandmother shared 24 hour nursing duty, both were undocumented, and neither were employed for cash. The mom lied about where the child was, because she feared they would arrest her husband and the grandmother if she gave an address, leaving the child without care. So they charged the mom with false statements as well as being in the country illegally. This was at the Swift Plant in Worthington. Mexico cannot provide the health care -- so if the child is returned to Mexico it would be a death sentence. The courts are still dealing with this one, but the family got considerable legal help once their story was made public.

[rege]

This is off topic, but I think that you may find this very interesting. The new report, Prewar Intelligence Assesments About Postwar Iraq, by the Senate Intelligence Committee has an Additional View section Plame (p. 205), authored by Kit Bond and signed onto by Senators Hatch and Burr, in which they appear to argue that she purgured herself when she recently testified in the House. I would love to see you dissect this self-serving tripe before the rightwing noise machine latches on to it as they already have begun to do.

[Mimikatz]

Purged herself or perjured herself?

[desertwind]

Now we know why there's such a long fucking backlog of garden-variety no-problemo immigration cases.

Never mind the more complex cases.

[Mimikatz]

rege: While Marcy does the detailed response, I'll just venture a guess that the Bond, Hatch and Burr subreport is there to distract everyone from the main findings of the Committee that Bush was explicitly warned by the CIA before the invasion that Iraq would experience precisely the problems that we have seen, and yet Bush went ahead with his invasion anyway, with no f*ing clue what he was doing. And that goes for Cheney, Wolfowitz and the whole bunch of liars. In short, it is a distraction, another Bright Shiny Object.

[rege]

perjured herself Sorry about that.

[looseheadprop]

Mimikatz

I think maybe Rover is afraid that the Waxman Committee (or some other) is going to conitnue follow up, and this is meant to shake their faith in their star witnesses.

It's also a not so subtle threat to those witnesses. Not unlike the threats to the fired USAs, "play ball or we will say you had 'performance' issues."

What cheap thugs.

[earlofhuntingdon]

Come on. It was a good guess. A lot of lawyers hired by Gonzo haven't tried any cases before or after they were hired as USA's. What's the tally on Paulose or Griffin? What cases are they first chairing right now? Or have they adopted George's caricatured definition of management, that it's all about sitting behind the desk while the hired help do all the work?

[Jeff in CA]

Off topic, Marcy, but do you have any idea why Senators Bond, Hatch and Burr go an on for 18 pages in a minority view about Joe and Valerie Wilson in the recently released, "Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence on Prewar Intelligence Assessments About Postwar Iraq," pages 205-222? I did not read the whole thing.

[RJ]

What is "BushCo?"

???

[Dismayed]

BushCo is short for Bush and company - Meaning Bush, Cheney, Rove, Abu, Harriet, Basically who ever is applicable from this administration's thugs and true believers depending on the topic.

[Dismayed]

But remember, no one has told Cheney he's not the President. Er, I meant to say no one told us he is.

So here's some of Dicks just simply enraging BS that came after he told the Westpoint Class that, "No one can promise we won't be hit again."

---“We’re fighting a war over there because the enemy attacked us first,” Cheney said. “These are men who glorify murder and suicide. Terrorists are defined entirely by their hatreds.”

The terrorism fight now centers on Iraq, the vice president said, because that is where the enemy has massed. “The security of this nation depends on the outcome,” Cheney said.

Why does MSM keep reporting what this fucking shit stain has to say.

If MSM had an decency - He'd be afraid to open his putrid pie hole. The same line over and over and over. And we've got another year and a half of this pump brained prick.

[Mimikatz]

BushCo is also a reference to how in the pocket of big business the Bush Admin is.

Glenn Greenwals had a good column on Bush/Cheney's use of "them" as in "We are fighting them (peoplw in iraq) because they (a bunch of largely Saudis financed by wealthy Saudis) attacked us. "They" are all the same to these guys, at least when they are talking down to "us".

PS I highly recommend Al Gore's new book. It's about the use of fear to short-circuit reason and manipulate public opinion for partisan gain.

[Susan S]

I wonder why Josh Marshall hasn't picked up on the immigration angle yet? You caught my eye last week with the mention of Ion Sancho (Leon County SOE) in Florida and the possible false voter fraud cases involving illegals.

[Zena Princess]

So, ok. What time should I show up for the American 'coop'?