New Immigration Raid Policy (Hartford Courant)

New Immigration Raid Policy
U.S. Says Agents Will Be Targeting Employers

By Josh Meyer and Anna Gorman | Tribune Newspapers
March 31, 2009

WASHINGTON - Stepping into the political minefield of immigration reform, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will soon direct federal agents to target employers for arrest and prosecution rather than the laborers who sneak into the country illegally to work for them, Department of Homeland Security officials said Monday.

The shift in emphasis will be outlined in revamped field guidelines issued to agents of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, or ICE, as early as this week, according to several officials familiar with the change in policy. It is in keeping with comments President Barack Obama made in the 2008 campaign, when he said past enforcement efforts have failed because they focused on illegal immigrants rather than the bosses who hire them.

"There is a supply side and a demand side," said one Homeland Security official. "Like other law enforcement philosophies, there is a belief that by focusing more on the demand side, you cut off the supply."

Napolitano "is focused on using our limited resources to the greatest effect, targeting criminal aliens and employers that flout our laws and deliberately cultivate an illegal workforce," a department official said. "Worksite enforcements can address both of these priorities; while the review is taking place, our interior enforcement efforts will continue to operate consistent with immigration law."

Homeland Security officials emphasized that the department will not stop conducting sweeps of businesses and arresting those illegal immigrants who are caught working.

Michael Cutler, a retired senior special agent with 30 years working on immigration, sharply criticized the proposed change, saying the administration needs to go after workers and employers to send a message that it will not condone illegal immigration.

Cutler, now a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said it would be "dumb" to "go after employers and not the illegal aliens. That means they are going to make very few arrests. And the message that sends is that if you can make it across the border, you're home free, no one is going to be looking for you."