The Obama administration has defended raids targeting illegal immigrants. This approach as frustrated democratic lawmakers, who are against this controversial strategy.
The Secretary of State John Kerry and the Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson stressed the following “the reality is that not all those … seek or successfully establish that they qualify for [humanitarian] relief.”
140 House Democrats and 22 Senate Counterparts have signed letters to the current administration, urging them to take a different approach. However, Kerry and Johnson stated the following in a 3 page letter to lawmakers “We will continue to conduct enforcement actions in line with existing laws and policies, including the apprehension and removal of individuals with final orders of removal who have exhausted or waived all appeals,….The enforcement actions referenced in your letter are consistent with this approach.”
The actions of the Administration has shown no signs of backing down with the first of raids starting late December last year.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois has this to say “I’m certainly disappointed,…Let us deport everyone who is a danger to this country, but the notion of deporting people who are innocent, are no danger to this country, splitting up families, that should not be our policy.”
The vice President at the House Democratic retreat in Baltimore stated that the total number of persons deported to their home countries was 67 from the 121 found in the raids. He remarked by saying that “What the vice president made clear is that not only are they trying to do it in a constructive and legal [way], but also in a humane way.”