Big Beautiful Dreamer
ridiculously contented
At a forum I attended today, everyone was talking about the "34,000-bed mandate." I seemed to be the only one who didn't know what it was.
Here's what I found out:
The budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service) is based on a 34,000-bed mandate. That is, ICE has a quota of a minimum of 34,000 individuals per day must be in custody.
Any time ICE has fewer than 34,000 individuals per day in custody, its budget is in danger of being cut.
What crimes must one commit to be in custody?
First, may we please stipulate that illegal entry into the country is not, for the purpose of this discussion, considered a crime? The inherent brokenness of the system is a whole other animal, which I'll gladly discuss elsewhere. Suffice it to say that if someone attempted legal entry into the United States, it would take a minimum of 35 years before his request was processed. Individuals who have lived, worked, and paid taxes in the United States for 20 years are routinely told that it will take another 15 to 20 years before their paperwork can begin to be processed.
So, what crimes do you have to commit to help meet that pesky butts-in-the-beds mandate?
Driving at dusk without yet having turned on your headlights.
Stopping for an officer letting traffic out of a large church, then being rear-ended by another driver, causing you to bump the car in front of you.
Or, possibly, just driving while brown.
And forget about counting on "keeping the family together." An adult with children, once in the system, must prove not just hardship but "extraordinary and exceptional hardship" would be the result of separating parents and children. That is, if your child has a chronic illness that needs constant tending, or is otherwise special needs, maybe, just possibly, you might get a hearing.
But schedule those hearings wisely. Otherwise, you'll end up giving birth seven days past your due date at 5 a.m., then having to leave the hospital against medical advice to make your 10 a.m. hearing time. Yup, that happened. This year. In my state.
Here's what I found out:
The budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service) is based on a 34,000-bed mandate. That is, ICE has a quota of a minimum of 34,000 individuals per day must be in custody.
Any time ICE has fewer than 34,000 individuals per day in custody, its budget is in danger of being cut.
What crimes must one commit to be in custody?
First, may we please stipulate that illegal entry into the country is not, for the purpose of this discussion, considered a crime? The inherent brokenness of the system is a whole other animal, which I'll gladly discuss elsewhere. Suffice it to say that if someone attempted legal entry into the United States, it would take a minimum of 35 years before his request was processed. Individuals who have lived, worked, and paid taxes in the United States for 20 years are routinely told that it will take another 15 to 20 years before their paperwork can begin to be processed.
So, what crimes do you have to commit to help meet that pesky butts-in-the-beds mandate?
Driving at dusk without yet having turned on your headlights.
Stopping for an officer letting traffic out of a large church, then being rear-ended by another driver, causing you to bump the car in front of you.
Or, possibly, just driving while brown.
And forget about counting on "keeping the family together." An adult with children, once in the system, must prove not just hardship but "extraordinary and exceptional hardship" would be the result of separating parents and children. That is, if your child has a chronic illness that needs constant tending, or is otherwise special needs, maybe, just possibly, you might get a hearing.
But schedule those hearings wisely. Otherwise, you'll end up giving birth seven days past your due date at 5 a.m., then having to leave the hospital against medical advice to make your 10 a.m. hearing time. Yup, that happened. This year. In my state.
