Neil A. Carousso produces NewsNation original “Kurt’s Country” – a celebration of country music and a slice of Americana with host Kurt Bardella.
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Enforcing Immigration Laws: DHS Order to Prioritize Deportation of Criminal Illegal Aliens, End to “Catch-and-Release”
By Neil A. Carousso
Department of Homeland Security Secretary General John Kelly moved to implement President Donald J. Trump’s immigration policies, namely prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants, hiring more immigration officers, officially ending the “catch-and-release” policies, and beginning to execute the president’s plans to build a wall on U.S. southern border.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary General John Kelly (DHS.gov) “It is in the national interest of the United States to prevent criminals and criminal organizations from destabilizing border security,” wrote Kelly in one of two memos released by DHS on Tuesday.
The agencies “going back to our traditional roots” on enforcement said a Homeland Security official.
The key points in the DHS memo include:
-Prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants and others for deportation, including those convicted or charged with “any criminal offense,” or who have “abused” any public welfare program
-Expanding expedited removal provisions to aliens who have not been admitted or paroled into the U.S. This excludes unaccompanied minors, those who intend to apply for asylum or have a fear of persecution or torture in their home countries.
-Expanding the 287(g) program, which allows participating local officers to act as immigration agents – and had been rolled back under the Obama administration
-Starting the planning, design and construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall with mostly American materials being made to construct the wall
-Identifying and quantifying indirect and direct sources of aid to Mexico during each of the last five fiscal years
-“Hiring 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officers”
-Hiring 5,000 Border Patrol agents
-Commissioning a comprehensive study of border security (air, land and maritime) to “identify vulnerabilities and provide recommendations to enhance border security.” The study will include the “availability of federal and state resources to develop and implement an effective border security strategy that will achieve complete operational control of the border.”
-Ending “catch-and-release” policies (ended in 2006 under President George W. Bush, but was continued under President Barack Obama) under which illegal immigrants subject to deportation potentially are allowed to “abscond” and fail to appear at removal hearings
-“Putting into place accountability measures to protect alien children from exploitation and prevent abuses of immigration laws. The smuggling or trafficking of alien children into the United States puts those children at grave risk of violence and sexual exploitation. CBP and ICE will ensure the proper enforcement of our immigration laws against those who facilitate such smuggling or trafficking.”
“DREAMers” in DACA and White House Intentions:
So-called DREAMers are not affected by the memos. DREAMers are defined in President Barack Obama’s June 2012 policy “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) as undocumented immigrants to the United States who entered the country as minors. Children, under DACA, have been granted a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility.
Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions from the press on Tuesday (Reuters/Carlos Barria) “The message from this White House and from the DHS is those people who are in this country and pose a threat to our public safety or have committed a crime will be the first to go and we will aggressively be making sure that that occurs. That is what the priority is,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at his Tuesday press briefing, making it clear that the DHS memos and President Trump policies are not of mass deportations.
“Everybody who is here illegally is subject to removal at any time,” Spicer said. “That is consistent with every country, not just ours. If you’re in this country in an illegal manner, then obviously there’s a provision that could ensure that you be removed.
Illegal Immigration Statistics:
In fiscal years 2010-2014, 121 aliens were released from custody and later charged with a homicide-related offense. In fiscal year 2015, 15,715 offenders were convicted of illegal reentry, accounting for 82 percent of immigration offenders sentenced. Under 300 jurisdictions in the United States, illegal immigrants are granted sanctuary in which cities and states disobey federal immigration law.
An overwhelming number of voters say local authorities should be required to comply with federal immigration law. A Harvard-Harris Poll survey provided exclusively to The Hill found that 80 percent of voters are against sanctuary cities.
A Pew Research Center report released earlier this month, reveals that an estimated 2.5 million immigrants in the country illegally live in the metropolitan areas of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago – all cities that have vowed to fight President Trump’s enforcement of immigration law.
A recent U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operation removed criminal illegal immigrant fugitives in New York, arresting criminals with an array of sexual assault, rape, drugs, DUI, robbery, larceny and other criminal offenses including reentry upon final orders of removal and an MS-13 gang member.
In New York City, an illegal immigrant MS-13 gang member was allowed to be released under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “sanctuary city” policy. There was a federal petition to hold him for deportation, according to officials. Estivan Rafael Marques Velasquez was set free from Rikers Island on February 16 after serving time for disorderly conduct. ICE officials requested last May that the gang member be turned over to immigration officials when he finished serving his sentence. An immigration judge ordered his removal in November 2015.
“This man is by his own admission a member of a violent street gang and he was released back into the community,” said Thomas Decker, field office director for the New York Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit. “Honoring a detainer request is not about politics, it is about keeping New York citizens safe.”
ICE sent in their own agents to find Velasquez the same day in Queens.
In another recent case, a 19-year-old murder suspect in Denver is in jail with another man for the killing of 32-year-old Tim Cruz on February 7. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on the murder suspect after being arrested by Denver police in October 2016 for car theft and other charges. ICE wanted to be notified of any pending release because he was suspected of being in the U.S. illegally from Mexico.
“Angel mom” Laura Wilkerson (Screen-grab/Fox News YouTube channel) “Somebody’s gonna be inconvenienced, said “angel mom” Laura Wilkerson on a Fox News Channel’s special immigration townhall on”First 100 Days,” hosted by Martha MacCallum on Tuesday night. “Y’know, without the immigration laws being enforced, this country has run amok. And any way that he does it, there’s gonna be an inconvenience to people. But for myself, if you’re not burying your child in the ground and turning around and walking away, it’s not an inconvenience you can’t deal with.”
Wilkerson’s son Joshua was murdered by an illegal immigrant, a “DREAMer,” in November 2010.
The 680 illegal immigrants detained in recent ICE sweeps represent just .07 percent of the 950,062 with deportation orders as of May 21, 2016, according to statistics provided to Congress. There are an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants with criminal records in addition to their illegal status. The Trump Administration is making the criminal illegal aliens a priority for swift removal in order to protect the United States from preventable crime.
The number of southwest border patrol agents are down nearly 1,600 from an all-time peak of 18,611 in the fiscal year of 2013.
The United States gave $175 million in aid to Mexico from 2014-2016 with 45 percent of the aid going to “democracy, human rights and governance” and 9 percent of Mexican aid towards “peace and security.” President Trump has promised to have Mexico pay for the border wall by using aid funds, reducing the trade deficit between the two countries or other diplomatic measures. The wall is addressed in the DHS memo.
Immigration and Refugee Suspension from Terror-Riddled Nations:
The Homeland Security memos come after President Trump’s January 27th executive order that suspended immigration for 90 days and refugees for 120 days from six terror nations – Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Yemen and Libya – and an indefinite suspension on immigration and refugees coming from war-torn Syria with the intent to build safe zones in Syria for victims. A national halt on the order was placed by U.S. District Judge James Robart a week later. Robart’s stay was upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals with two judges appointed by Democrat presidents Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter. The courts have not ruled on the executive order’s Constitutionality.
President Trump speaks at a rally in Melbourne, FL on Saturday (Joe Raedle, Getty Images) President Trump has said as the Chief Executive, he has the authority to suspend immigration if he has reason to believe that the nation’s national security is in jeopardy.
8 U.S. Code § 1182 on “Inadmissible aliens” reads in part:
“Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. Whenever the Attorney General finds that a commercial airline has failed to comply with regulations of the Attorney General relating to requirements of airlines for the detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers traveling to the United States (including the training of personnel in such detection), the Attorney General may suspend the entry of some or all aliens transported to the United States by such airline.” – Abridged 8 U.S. Code § 1182
The president is also granted authority by the U.S. Constitution to protect the country from “domestic violence.”
“The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.” – Article IV, Section 4 of The Constitution of the United States of America
President Trump is expected to rescind his original immigration suspension executive order that is currently tied up in the courts and release a revised executive order later this week or next week that will suspend immigration and refugees from terror-riddled nations that do not communicate about travelers to the United States government. Communication about travelers between countries is customary so that nations can prepare for any potential terrorist threats. The new order is likely to have an exemption for green card holders and a revision of the indefinite nature of the Syrian immigration and refugee program suspensions.
The temporary immigration suspension is intended to provide the Chief Executive and his national security team, led by newly appointed National Security Director General H.R. McMaster and Defense Secretary General James Mattis, time to develop and implement a comprehensive and effective “extreme vetting” policy. President Trump signed a memorandum on January 28th that mandates that his top national security advisors develop a plan within 30-days, by Monday, February 27, to defeat ISIS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXejrrBipOY&t=25s
Featured Image Courtesy: CBS News
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Supporting Our Veterans: U.S. Army Combat Vet Shares His Emotional Story of Service
By Neil A. Carousso
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hx5tv5uyYE
Jeffrey McQueen is currently the director of veterans services at Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island. He served the United States in the U.S Army 82nd Airborne Division from 1982-1988, seeing combat at age 19.
“I found myself at the turning point, at a crossroads about making a decision between life and death and I chose life,” McQueen told this reporter on Thursday’s episode 10 of “The Neil A. Carousso Show Podcast” after describing his substance abuse and other personal issues after serving the United States in Grenada. “As a result of it, I’m in this position today where I allow my particular pain to become stepping stones to other individuals growth to wellness.”
Mr. McQueen continues to serve the country and his community through supporting his fellow veterans who suffer from PTSD, homelessness and other medical conditions and personal issues upon returning from service.
“If the community is engaging and getting involved and looking at what’s going on around them…if you see something, say something,” McQueen said referencing the New York City Police Department slogan, continuing, “If you see a veteran that is in dire need of support and not getting the support that they need regardless of discharge status veteran then you should be reaching out to find out what you could do to be able to aid them and know that there are those of us out here that are willing to engage and support and care for these veterans.”
Veterans Health Alliance encourages and needs community support in order to accomplish their goals of “promoting the health and well-being of Long Island veterans and their families through advocacy and a broad array of services,” all discussed on last week’s podcast with Mr. McQueen.
One way people can get involved is by attending a free conference on Tuesday, March 14th at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY.
“As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have ‘officially’ wound down, the pace of deployments is much less,” reads a press release promoting the free conference, adding that because many service members have been home for upwards of 10 years, “the attention of government and the general public to veterans’ related issues has lessened somewhat.”
One can register for the “Veterans Mental Health Conference 2017” here as a way to learn more about giving back to those who served to keep us safe and protect our American values, freedom and our nation’s sovereignty.
There are 167,000 veterans living on Long Island, east of New York City, according to the latest U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data. There is an estimated 39, 471 homeless veterans on a given night in the U.S. with 41 percent of homeless vets between the ages of 31-50, according to the V.A. and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island will also attend “Legislative Day” along with the Mental Health Association of New York State (MHANYS) to advocate for a wide array of matters including increased funding for the Joseph Dwyer Peer to Peer Program that allows veterans to heal by talking with their cohorts who understand the challenges of serving in the military. Other issues that will be brought to New York political representatives include funding for suicide prevention services, erasing stigma of mental illness for veterans, funding for mental health workforce and housing. People who are interested in attending to advocate on behalf of U.S. veterans should email Brent Russell, the program coordinator of Veterans Health Alliance or call (516) 489-2322, extensions 1312 or 1213.
Last week, there were House committee hearings on the use of official time at the V.A. A Government Accountability Office report found the Veterans Affairs cannot track official time usage and there are no standardized processes in place to record and calculate official time and money spent by federal union representatives on union activity.
President Donald Trump has vowed to take care of our veterans by reducing the V.A. bureaucracy and allowing veterans to receive healthcare at any private or public hospital with full federal government reimbursement in order to reduce wait times.
Over 505,000 veterans have waited more than a month to see a doctor, according to a June report published by the Military Times. That number is up 23,000 from April. Of the 6.7 million medical appointments at the Veterans Affairs Department medical facilities in the country, 92 percent were scheduled within 30-days – a standard set by Congress in 2014.
This interview originally aired on “The Neil A. Carousso Show Podcast,” which is uploaded daily to iTunes and this site. “The Neil A. Carousso Show,” a live streaming video program, airs Sundays at 12 Noon ET/9 AM PT.
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Retired Immigration Agent Calls for Law and Order to Protect the Homeland
Retired INS Agent Michael Cutler testifies in March 2002 on Capitol Hill in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims about the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. (Getty Images) Retired Immigration Naturalization Service Agent Michael Cutler joined Neil A. Carousso on “The Neil A. Carousso Show,” Sunday, to discuss President Donald Trump’s blocked executive order that had suspended immigration and refugees from seven terror nations. Cutler also explains why so-called sanctuary cities are dangerous to the illegal aliens it’s said to protect and elaborates on the drug cartels that prosper off a borderless America.
Featured image from Twitter.
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American Anarchists: Army Veteran Believes People Should be Arrested for Burning the American Flag
By Neil A. Carousso
There is an uprising of violent riots, protesting conservatives and President Donald J. Trump’s policies. Oftentimes, anarchists set fire to the American flag and show utter disrespect for the United States of America.
While clearly abhorrent, flag burning has been debated in the court system since 1907 with the Supreme Court of the United States ruling in 1989 that flag burning is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Mangum, in “Walking in an Army Veteran’s Shoes” by Carousso, holds a picture of him and his grandmother that was taken months before she died in 2012. On Wednesday’s episode of “The Neil A. Carousso Show Podcast,” when asked about the rioting taking place across the nation, U.S. Army Veteran Rance Mangum expressed his anger when people burn the American flag that is the symbol of our freedom and our nation’s sovereignty for which people like Rance fought to uphold and protect.
“It doesn’t do nothing. What does it represent for burning our flag? What does it do?,” remarked Mangum who dedicated his life to service between the military and service positions as an EMT and others. “When that flag flies high, our spirits and our morals are high, our values are high. It represents the United States.”
Mangum told this reporter that people who burn and step on the American flag should be arrested.
President Trump has brought the issue of flag burning to light on the campaign trail and during the transition period on Twitter and in interviews, making his position clear that people who burn the American flag should face “consequences.”
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
The Chief Executive enthused a wave of nationalist voters who feel pride in the country they call home. President Trump tapped into the demoralization of people who felt left-behind by globalist policies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV_yLsrquo8
“You hear a lot of talk about how we’re becoming a globalized world,” then, President-elect Trump started in during a “Thank You Tour” rally. “There is no global anthem, no global currency, no certificate of global citizenship. We pledge allegiance to one flag and that flag is the American flag,” Trump exclaimed.
President Trump is known to be affectionate towards the American flag, symbolizing his love for the country. To give back to those who serve for our nation’s freedom and our personal safety, contact us and we will ensure your time or donation of any sort goes directly to a U.S. veteran. Listen to Episode 4 for more information. “The Neil A. Carousso Show Podcast” is available on iTunes. It is recorded Mondays-Fridays.
Featured Image Courtesy: Peter DaSilva/EPA.
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Sanctuary Cities are Illegal but Mayors are Fighting the President to Protect Illegal Immigrants
By Neil A. Carousso
This article has been updated.
Sanctuary cities provide no sanctuary for American citizens.
Personally, this American believes it is immoral that New York City and upwards of 300 jurisdictions, give or take, plus college campuses consider themselves a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, ignoring and putting law-abiding U.S. citizens’ lives in danger.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been vocal about his dissent and refusal to abide by President Trump’s policies. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Mayor de Blasio, Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel, mayors in California and others could be prosecuted by the the U.S. Department of Justice for violating an existing law, enacted in 1996 under President Bill Clinton. The “Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act” includes section 8 U.S.C. 1373, which provided that “no state or local entity can in any way restrict its law-enforcement officials from communicating with federal immigration authorities regarding an individual’s citizenship or immigration status.” Furthermore, Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal laws are supreme over state laws and policy.
So-called sanctuary cities allow illegal aliens, including those who are convicted criminals, to be shielded from federal immigration law by the local government; mayors and city officials break the law by refusing to hand over illegal aliens to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, whose border patrol agents endorsed Mr. Trump for President, generally seeks out criminal illegal aliens and President Donald J. Trump has vowed to detain and deport those criminal illegal immigrants. This is not unreasonable; it is the law and policy by countries worldwide. Why are we putting our citizens at unnecessary risk when we can protect our citizens from preventable crime?
Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal immigrant in July 2015. Perfect example, and not an isolated incident by far, of why sanctuary cities are illegal and immoral: Kate Steinle, a 32-year-old medical sales representative, was killed by illegal immigrant Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican national and convicted felon (7 convicted felonies), on July 1, 2015 in San Francisco, CA (a sanctuary city). San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy protected this felon from being handed over to ICE, detained and deported to Mexico. Lopez-Sanchez was deported to Mexico five times only to return to the U.S. illegally six times. This is also a perfect example of the necessities of a border security, the wall on the southern border, border surveillance, and enforcing laws on the books. “Kate’s Law” has been reintroduced in Congress; it would mandate a five year sentence in a federal penitentiary upon conviction for illegal immigrants who reenter the United States after being deported.
The Trump Administration announced Wednesday that the White House will publish a weekly list of crimes purportedly committed by illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities.
There is case law that permits President Trump from withdrawing funding for those cities who claim to be a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. Chicago could be declining over $2 million in grants for the upcoming fiscal year, while New York City is passing up close to $15 million. The DOJ could request Chicago and NYC refund the federal government for previous years in which the cities operated as a sanctuary for illegals. What may be worse is that Mayor de Blasio has threatened to destroy records of illegal immigrants to spite the federal government.
If these mayors continue to defy federal law, this case could end-up in the Supreme Court of the United States. President Trump is expected to nominate a Supreme Court Justice next week, to be confirmed by the Senate, to fill the vacancy left by originalist Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia when he passed last February at the age of 79.
On the economic end, in addition to making cities vulnerable to crime, taxpayers pay for illegal immigrants’ healthcare including doctor visits, shots, prescription drugs, lab tests and surgeries at local providers. The services usually are inexpensive or free to participants, who must prove they live in the county but are told their immigration status doesn’t matter, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey. Taxpayers also pay for illegal immigrants’ education and subsidized housing. We have about 43 million Americans living in poverty and 13 million more Americans on food stamps since 2009 plus approximately 39,500 U.S. veterans are homeless on a given night. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing for Americans around the country with upwards of 110 percent increase in premiums in Arizona and deductibles so high that many mandated insured Americans never use their insurance.
President Trump signs an executive order. Mr. Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday that will implement “extreme vetting” for refugees and illegal immigrants to decrease the threat of terror and crime after temporarily banning immigration from nations that are a hotbed for terrorism. Nations who have and continue to send terrorists to the United States include Syria, Iran and Libya. The ban would be temporary for approximately 120 days, according to a leaked draft of the executive order, until President Trump’s extreme vetting policies are implemented to ensure that people entering the U.S. have no suspicion of terrorism with the assurance that they believe in our inclusive American values and democracy. Syria is the exception the temporary ban; Syria immigrants would face an “indefinite” ban with the Chief Executive promising to build a safe zone in the terror nation for refugees.
That executive order has not been signed, yet, and it is not a ban on religion. Just the opposite, this executive order bans immigration from countries who persecute people because of their religion, gender, political beliefs, among others. Some nations are majority Muslim, but not 100 percent Muslim nations.
In the long-term, refugee admissions would be reduced by 50 percent if this reported executive order becomes law.
UPDATE:
Miami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right decision. Strong! https://t.co/MtPvaDC4jM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017
President Trump reacted on Twitter Thursday evening, praising the Miami-Dade Mayor’s decision.
Featured Image: Center for Immigration Studies
