National Immigrant Justice Centre August 5, 2011- The Obama administration confirmed today that it will force all local law enforcement agencies in the United States to participate in the controversial Secure Communities immigration enforcement program and announced it had unilaterally terminated all existing memoranda of understanding (MOUs) previously signed by state governments, stating the agreements are unnecessary to establish local law enforcement participation in the federally mandated program. Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) condemns the Obama administration’s ongoing strong-arm tactics to force local law enforcement to assume the duties of federal immigration officers.

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August 4, 2011 By JAMES KILGORE, Counterpunch

Last week Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) joined a demonstration in Washington D.C. to protest the refusal of President Obama to use his executive powers to halt the deportations of the undocumented. Gutierrez’ arrest came only two days after Obama had addressed a conference  of the National Council of La Raza. Conveniently forgetting the history of the civil right struggles that made his Presidency a possibility, Obama reminded those attending that he was bound to “uphold the laws on the books.” With over 392,000 deportations in 2010, more than in any of the Bush years, many activists fear we are in the midst of a repeat of notorious episodes of the past such as the “Repatriation” campaign of the 1930s and the infamous Operation Wetback of 1954, both of which resulted in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Latinos.

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Vancouver Sun, Chad Skeleton Aug 4 2011

After the MV Sun Sea arrived on B.C.’s coast last summer carrying 492 migrants, we filed a number of Access to Information requests to the Canada Border Services Agency for information on the ship and how the migrants were handled. The first batch of records in response to those requests have started to trickle in. So far, they don’t contain anything particularly shocking. However, there was one memo that was kind of interesting. It’s been well-established since the Sun Sea arrived that the federal government has pushed hard to keep migrants in detention until their refugee hearings occur. This memo gives some indication of just how seriously the government is about keeping the migrants in detention:

CBSA Grounds for Detention

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August 3, 2011 By Kristen Shane, Embassy Magazine

Government ministers are conflating immigration and criminal law in their quest to find and deport 30 men allegedly involved or complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity, say international criminal justice lawyers and other observers. That’s dangerous, they say, because the ministers are effectively labelling people as war criminals who have never been found guilty of such crimes by a criminal court. Meanwhile, one ambassador says he was surprised to learn Canadian authorities were seeking one of his countrymen over such allegations. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews announced July 21 that the Canada Border Services Agency was releasing the names, photos and other identifying information of 30 men wanted for deportation from Canada.

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Published On Tue Aug 02 2011, Toronto Star

Five down; 25 to go. The Conservative government’s latest crackdown is off to a speedy start. Since Public Safety Minister Vic Toews enlisted the help of the public to root out 30 suspected war criminals hiding in Canada, tips have been pouring in. In just two weeks, fugitives from Pakistan, Honduras, Congo and two from Peru have been arrested. One was spotted shopping for bathroom tiles in Mississauga. Another was turned in by members of his ethnic community in Montreal. This past Sunday, the first captive was deported. Toews is basking in the success of his “pilot project.” His cabinet colleague, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, whose department lost track of the men in the first place, is cheering him on lustily. The Prime Minister’s Office is “tweeting” news of the captures. There is already talk of expanding the program.

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