ICE and the Immigration Judges

[babylonsister]

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/contributoremptywheel/index.html

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.

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.

Related link: Are They Using ICE to Go After "Voter Fraud"?
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/05/are_they_using_.html

[Clark2008]

1. Question: What does ICE stand for?

I know it's the "new" name for INS, but what does it stand for? Immigration... what?

[dsc]

2. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

[babylonsister]

3. ICE also is involved in all those new detention centers built by Halliburton:

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0418-27.htm

Halliburton's Immigrant Detention Centers
by Ruth Conniff


While thousands of people were celebrating the contribution America's undocumented immigrants make to our economy, and demanding justice and recognition for workers who are denied basic rights, the government was making plans for large-scale detention centers in case of an "emergency influx" of immigrants.

KBR, the Halliburton subsidiary recently reprimanded for gross overcharging in its military contracts in Iraq, won a $385 million contract to build the centers. According to the Halliburton website -- www.Halliburton.com -- "the contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."

What new programs might those be?

The web was abuzz with speculation after the contract was awarded on January 24. Pacific News Service gave the most detailed analysis.

It connected the new "immigration emergency" plans with older plans that involved imposing martial law.

more...