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The Massachusetts Democrat fielded questions from The Enterprise about issues with the Veteran's Affairs medical system, the opioid crisis, and illegal immigration.

BROCKTON Resources and oversight are the keys to getting the nations Veterans Affairs system back on track and keeping it there, according to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The Massachusetts Democrat fielded questions from The Enterprise about issues with the Veterans Affairs medical system, the opioid crisis, and illegal immigration during a press conference following a tour of the Brockton Veterans Affairs Medical Center Thursday.

Warren said the federal government has been working to improve conditions and services in the national Veterans Affairs system by increasing oversight at all of the countrys facilities and finding ways to boost the systems funding.

The VA became embroiled in a national scandal in 2014 when systemic problems with falsified record-keeping and lengthy waiting times for care at facilities across the country came to light. At least one veterans death has been linked to the problems.

In March, a Mississippi Marine Corps veteran died in the Brockton facility after overdosing on the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl while being treated for severe post-traumatic stress disorder. The facility has faced whistleblower allegations of patient neglect and an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in recent years.

Right now, were asking our veterans facilities to deal with an opioid crisis that is growing out of all proportion, and they need help to be able to do that, Warren said. Its up to us in Congress to make sure that they have the money that they need to hire the people that they need to make this happen.

She noted shes recently worked on a bill to expand veterans educational benefits.

I think whats really important that we not just go down to Washington and pass another law and say the problem is solved. It really means that we come to the VA centers themselves and hear whats happening and let (them) tell us where are the best places to help... and we need oversight when that help is provided.

Warren also voiced support for proposals to open supervised sites where intravenous drug users can inject under the watch of medical professionals in Massachusetts. Such a facility has been floated by supporters in Boston.

Im a data-driven person, and the latest data I have seen suggests that this may be a way to bring down deaths from opioids, she said.

Overdose deaths have begun trending down statewide after mounting for years, recent state data shows, but Massachusetts still lost more than 2,000 residents to drug-related overdoses in 2016.

Warren also decried threats by the Trump administration to cut off certain federal funding to cities that decline to aid the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in apprehending illegal immigrants, often dubbed sanctuary cities. Last winter, local faith groups lobbied for Brockton to take that stance.

I believe in the Constitution of the United States, and I think the Constitution is entirely clear that the federal government cannot withhold funds from localities as a way to try to bend those localities to the federal governments desires on enforcement or any other issues that are not directly related to the funds themselves, she said.

The state Supreme Judicial Court last month ruled that local law enforcement has no authority to hold individuals on orders from ICE, known as immigration detainers.

There are no grounds under state law to be able to detain, Warren said. I think thats correct.

The Brockton visit was the first stop on Warrens tour of the southeastern part of the state. She continued on to visit High Point Treatment Center in Plymouth and held a town hall event in Marshfield at night. She spent Wednesday in New Bedford.

In Brockton, Warren toured the hospitals long-term rehabilitation, mental health and spinal cord injury units. She also visited a program that the hospital runs for female veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Vincent Ng, the director of the VA Boston Healthcare System that the Brockton campus is part of, said that 10-week program is one of just two in the country. Warren met with eight women currently working through the program, he said.

Its for woman veterans who have experienced trauma, and whove been to other programs and failed, unfortunately, Ng said. This is kind of their last stop. It helps them with special skills to cope with PTSD.

The tour finished with a roundtable discussion with local leaders and state representatives at the recently renovated Howard House, a private-public partnership that houses homeless veterans and provides them with vocational training to help them live independently.

It makes me proud, once again, to be from Massachusetts and to see what Massachusetts is doing for our vets, Warren said of the visit.

Ng said Warren met and spoke one-on-one with some of the veterans at the facility.

She is really a veterans advocate, she met and talked with them and made them feel honored, and we should honor our vets for the service theyve provided to this country, he said.

Got news tips? Contact Tom Relihan at trelihan@enterprisenews.com, or (508)427-4014.

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Warren talks vets, addiction, illegal immigration at Brockton VA ... - Enterprise News

A sanctuary city in California reportedly didnt cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, giving the federal agency no time to pick up an illegal alien they released from custody, who then allegedly murdered his girlfriend two weeks later.

Santa Rosa police arrested 38-year-old Nery Israel Estrada-Margos on August 18 after he turned himself in for allegedly beating his girlfriend 42-year-old Veronica Cabrera Ramirez to death, theSanta Rosa Press Democrat reported.

Estrada-Margos was in police custody before the murder on August 2 for felony domestic battery charges after he allegedly beat Ramirez following a heated argument.

Police released Estrada-Margos from custody on August 3 despite a detainer request lodged against him by ICE officials after he posted the required $30,000 bail.

Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano deflected blame from his county, an official sanctuary city, by giving misleading statements to local media outlets who then blamed ICE.

We did notify ICE of his release date and time. Sometimes they pick up, sometimes they dont, Giordano said.

What Giordano did not tell reporters was that Sonoma County gave ICE officials only 16 minutes to travel over 60 miles to pick up Estrada-Margos before releasing him from custody a distance that according to Google Maps can take 90 minutes to travel.

James Schwab, ICEs spokesman in San Francisco, documented the incident in a statement given to The Daily Caller.

Immigration detainers serve as a legally authorized request, upon which a law enforcement agency may rely, to continue to maintain custody of an alien for up to 48 hours so that ICE may assume custody for removal purposes, Schwab wrote. At 8:20 p.m. the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office notified ICEs local office that Mr. Estrada was pending release. The Sheriffs Office then released Mr. Estrada 16 minutes later at 8:36 p.m.

Schwab noted that the vast majority of notifications that ICE receives from Sonoma County, especially over the last six months, have failed to provide sufficient advance notification to pick up these criminals.

This case underscores yet again why immigration detainers are such a crucial enforcement tool and why it is highly problematic, and even tragic, when jurisdictions choose not to comply, Schwab continued. ICE continues to seek to collaborate with law enforcement agencies in northern California and nationwide to promote public safety and prevent potentially dangerous criminal aliens from being released back into our communities.

California openly defied President Trumps vowed crackdown on illegal immigration earlier this year when the state passed legislation that prohibits law enforcement agencies in California from cooperating with ICE.

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More here:
Police Release Illegal Alien Who Then Murders Girlfriend - The Daily Caller

Former Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff Joe Arpaio ignored a judge's order to stop detaining people because he merely suspected them of being undocumented immigrants. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

Do people in this room like Sheriff Joe? Ill make a prediction: I think hes going to be just fine, okay? President Trump, rally in Phoenix, Aug. 22

He has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration. Hes a great American patriot and I hate to see what has happened to him. Is there anyone in local law enforcement who has done more to crack down on illegal immigration than Sheriff Joe? Trump, quoted on Fox News, Aug. 13

At his Aug. 22 rally in Phoenix, President Trump heaped praise on longtime ally and campaign surrogate Joe Arpaio, the embattled former sheriff fromArizona. While he didnt announce a presidential pardon at the rally, he indicated he was ready to offerit.

For many years, Trump and Arpaio shared a pet issue: the birther theory. Trump was a vocal proponent of it, until he abandoned it during the 2016 presidential campaign and then falsely blamed Hillary Clinton for starting the conspiracy. Arpaio and his volunteer cold-case posse perpetuated the conspiracy for six years until Arpaio was voted out of office in 2016.

As Trump made illegal immigration a key campaign issue, he once again found a willing ally in Arpaio, whose anti-immigrant practices catapulted him to national prominence. And now, Trump is considering a presidential pardon for the self-proclaimed Americas Toughest Sheriff, who faces six months of jailfollowing a criminal conviction relating to his policing practices targeting Latinos.

Whether Arpaio has done more than any other local law enforcement to crack down on illegal immigration is Trumps opinion, and not fact-checkable. But its important to look at the full context of Arpaios history of legal woes stemming from his illegal-immigration policies.

This is a complex saga. Well focus on the initial key moments in 2008, and then jump to the potential presidential pardon in 2017.

Arpaio and his supporters often dismiss the years-long federal investigations as a partisan witch hunt under Barack Obama, but the FBIs probe began as early as 2008, at the end of the George W. Bush administration.

Arpaio, who became sheriff in 1993, quickly became known for his unorthodox practices, such as requiring inmates to wear pink underwear, work on chain gangs and live in an outdoors Tent City jail even during the scorching Phoenix summers. In the early 2000s, Arpaio shifted to take onillegal immigration, which raised his national profile.

But the new effort came at a cost. Arpaios deputies started arresting hundreds of illegal immigrants, after entering into a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. The sheriffs office blew through its budget on immigration efforts while violent crimes, including sex crimes, went uninvestigated. The officeeventually reopened more than 400 sex crimes investigations from 2005 to 2008 during which the agency built up its human-smuggling unit whileits special-victims unit went disproportionately understaffed.

President Trump spoke about possibly pardoning former Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio during a rally in Phoenix on Aug. 22. Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt in July. (The Washington Post)

In 2008, as the recession hit and tensions intensified between Arpaio and local officials over how much local law enforcement should focus onillegal immigration, the county Board of Supervisors decided to cut Arpaios budget. This led to a series of political infighting and legal disputes within the county, which ultimately cost taxpayers more than $44 million.

Also in 2008, federal officials under Bush started investigating the sheriffs office for potential civil rights violations. The investigation continued under Obama and then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who prioritized enforcement of civil rights laws.In 2011, the Justice Department concludedthe sheriffs office engaged in systemic racial profiling of Latinos. DHS then removed theimmigration-enforcement authority for Arpaios agency.

With this context in mind, lets fast-forward to 2017

In July 2017, Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court. This stems from a 2007 racial-profiling case, Melendres v. Arpaio, in which Hispanic plaintiffs alleged that sheriffs deputies discriminated against Latinos in traffic stops.

In 2013, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow found the sheriffs office engaged in systemic racial profiling of Latinos in its anti-illegal-immigration efforts. Snow ordered the agency to stop detaining people solely because they were suspected of being undocumented.

But Arpaio resisted. He was charged with, then convicted of, criminal contempt of court for intentionally violating Snows order. Arpaios attorneys now are asking U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton for a new trial orto reconsider her verdict,arguing Arpaio was wrongfully denied a jury trial. Typically, a jury trial is not required when the defendants maximum sentence is six months in jail which Arpaio faces at his October sentencing.

Arpaio has said he would accept Trumps pardon. Jack Wilenchik, Arpaios attorney, said a presidential pardon is a check on the system, and the right thing to do Because the former president caused this problem [by revoking the Sheriffs authority to enforce federal law], it is only fair that the current president fix it, with a pardon. And when the judge refused to allow a jury, she refused to let ordinary Americans speak. So now they have to speak, through their president.

Maricopa County taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $70 million, specifically relating to this racial-profiling case. Even if Trump pardons Arpaio, taxpayers would still foot the bill.

If you pardon that kind of conduct, if you forgive that behavior, you are acknowledging that racist conduct in law enforcement is worth the kind of mercy that underlies a pardon and its not, said Paul Charlton, former U.S. attorney in Arizona under the Bush administration. And its an abuse of the presidents discretion. Its an injustice, and speaks volumes about the presidents disregard for civil rights if this pardon takes place.

As Arpaio gained national and even international notoriety over the years, local support waned. Arpaio faced his first serious challenger in 2012, when the vast majority of roughly $8 million raised by his campaign came from out-of-state donors. In 2016, Arpaio failed in his bid for a seventh consecutive term.

What role did Arpaio have on the flow of undocumented immigrants in the Phoenix metro area?

Its unclear. But unauthorized populations tend to fluctuate based on economic trends on both sides of the border, rather than as a direct result of a single agency or law.

The flow of unauthorized people in Arizona mirrored national trends peaking in 2007 before the Great Recession, then declining as the U.S. economy suffered and Mexicos economy boomed.

Data for metro areas are limited, but you can see this trendin state-level data for Arizona. (Maricopa County, which encompasses the Phoenix metro area, has the majority of the states seven million residents.) Even as Arpaios immigration efforts ramped up in the early 2000s, Arizonas undocumented population increased, as did the nations.

Whether you view Arpaios policies as a success is based on your view on illegal immigration, and how far an elected law enforcement official will push legal boundaries for the issues they value. But as weve chronicled, Arpaio has had a decade-long history of legal woes stemming from his policing policies on illegal immigration, and a federal judge found his sheriffs office had engaged in systemic racial profiling of Latinos.

Trump is sympathetic tohis political ally, and is mulling a presidential pardon. But the public should view his praise of Arpaios work on illegal immigration with a healthy dose ofskepticism.

After all, Arpaios agency employed systemic racismin the name of immigration enforcement, targeting Latino drivers and detaining them solely based on a suspicion that the driver may be in the United States illegally. He willfully rejected the order to stop these tactics, and is nowconvicted of criminal contempt. He was voted out of office, but left behind a controversial legacy at the cost of county taxpayers, who are now left with a legal bill of dozens of millions of dollars.We wont rate Trumps claims because they are vaguely worded and basedin opinion, but they certainly should not be taken at face value.

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2017-08-23 04:16:41 UTC

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On former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona: "You know what? Ill make a prediction. I think hes going to be just fine. Okay?"

Donald Trump

President of the United States

rally in Phoenix, Ariz.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

2017-08-22

Read the original:
What you need to know about former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio's record on illegal immigration - Washington Post

A Border Patrol vehicle patrols a section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence near Yuma, Ariz. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

A Border Patrol vehicle patrols a section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence near Yuma, Ariz.

President Trump returns Tuesday night to the same Phoenix convention center where he spoke during the campaign last year, laying out a 10-point plan to fight illegal immigration.

He's also visiting a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Yuma, Ariz., a few miles from the Southwest border.

Now seven months into his presidency, Trump has pushed for dramatic changes to the nation's immigration system. But he's also been stymied by Congress and by the courts.

Here's a look at what the Trump White House has accomplished on each of those 10 promises and what it hasn't.

1. "We will build a great wall along the southern border. And Mexico will pay for the wall."

The border wall remains more aspiration than reality. The Department of Homeland Security is waiving environmental rules to speed up construction of prototypes near San Diego.

But so far, Mexico has balked at paying for the wall. And so has Congress. The House has appropriated nearly $1.6 billion for the first phase of construction, but the Senate hasn't.

2. "We are going to end catch and release."

Administration officials say they're following through on Trump's promise to end so-called catch and release. That's how many critics describe the policy that allowed many immigrants to go free until their court dates, which can often be years away because of court backlogs.

In practice, it's not clear that the Trump administration is handling these cases much differently than previous administrations did.

But there has been a dramatic drop in the number of people apprehended at the Southwest border since Trump took office a 46 percent drop during the first seven months of the year compared to 2016, according to a DHS official. The total for March was the lowest in at least 17 years, although the numbers have started to creep back up since then.

3. "Zero tolerance for criminal aliens."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests are up more than 43 percent since late January compared to the same period in 2016, according to a DHS official. "We are still continuing to prioritize our resources on those individuals that create and pose the greatest public safety and national security threat," the official said. Seventy-two percent of those arrested had criminal convictions, a much lower percentage than the final years of the Obama administration.

Trump has pushed Congress for funding to hire more agents for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. But like funding for the border wall, Congress has yet to sign off.

4. "Block funding for sanctuary cities."

The Justice Department is trying to follow through on that promise to punish so-called sanctuary cities, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. DOJ made some law enforcement grants contingent on whether those cities do more to help ICE.

But Chicago and California quickly took the administration to court. That's in addition to lawsuits filed earlier this year by San Francisco, Seattle and other self-described sanctuary cities.

5. "Cancel unconstitutional executive orders and enforce all immigration laws."

This probably refers to two Obama-era executive actions including DACA, which protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children from deportation.

The Trump White House dropped its support for a related program called DAPA, which was supposed to help the parents of those children.

But so far, the White House has allowed DACA to continue, much to the dismay of immigration hard-liners. Texas and other states are threatening to sue if the administration doesn't pull its support for DACA by Sept. 5.

6. "We are going to suspend the issuance of visas to any place where adequate screening cannot occur."

This is part of what Trump's travel ban executive order was supposed to do.

The order Trump signed just a week after taking office would have blocked travelers from seven mostly Muslim countries that the administration says are known havens for terrorists.

Federal courts put the original order on hold. But the Supreme Court allowed a limited version of the travel ban to take effect until it can hear legal challenges to the ban in the fall.

7. "We will ensure that other countries take their people back when we order them deported."

Trump pointed out in Phoenix last year that immigrants with criminal records can wind up staying in the U.S. because their home country won't take them back. The White House has reportedly cut the number of non-cooperative countries from 23 to 12. Immigration hawks say that's a big win, and that the administration deserves more credit for it.

8. "We will finally complete the biometric entry-exit visa tracking system which we need desperately."

For years, Congress has required the Department of Homeland Security to create a system to track everyone who comes in and out of the country using biometric technologies like facial recognition or fingerprint scanners.

In recent years, a majority of new undocumented immigrants have overstayed temporary visas, while the number crossing the border illegally has fallen.

Customs and Border Protection is testing a few prototype systems at U.S. airports this summer. But experts say a comprehensive solution that will work at more than 300 land, sea and air ports of entry remains a long way off.

9. "We will turn off the jobs and benefits magnet."

In the spring, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to "Buy American" and "Hire American," and urging others to do the same.

But critics point out that Trump's own companies continue to hire foreign guest workers and manufacture overseas. And just as the White House's "Made in America" week was underway in July, the administration announced it would allow an additional 15,000 temporary foreign workers.

10. "We will reform legal immigration to serve the best interests of America and its workers, the forgotten people."

Earlier this month, the White House threw its support behind the RAISE Act, which would prioritize immigrants with valuable skills and high-paying U.S. job offers, and gradually reduce the number of other foreign nationals who can reunite with their families already living in the U.S. But there seems to be little enthusiasm for the bill in the Senate.

See the original post here:
FACT CHECK: What Has President Trump Done To Fight Illegal Immigration? - NPR

After reminding the world that Canada is a country of laws, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the nation will no longer be ignoring refugees who enter the country illegally. Faced with a rash of border crossings from the U.S. and growing criticism of his quixotic approach to border control, Trudeaus decision marks a major turning-point from his campaign.

Evidently, Trudeau is recognizing what any head of state who campaigns for radically loose immigration policies must at some point: Opening borders poses serious problems, both practical and political. Angela Merkel is facing pressure to accept an upper limit of refugees in Germany, and many see Britains exit from the European Union as a rebellion against the EUs more liberal refugee policy.

Canadas refugee problem has grown exponentially in the past few months. In all of 2015, only 2,900 crossed over the U.S. border into Quebec illegally. Since July 1 of this year, that number has reached 6,800. Over half of those account for the first two weeks of August alone. A large number of these have fled the U.S. in fear of Donald Trumps aggressive stance on illegal immigration and his proposal to make legal immigration a more exclusive process. Trudeau has not been vague on social media in his criticism of Trumps border control policies, tweeting in January that Canada welcomes all, because diversity is our strength.

Enforcement is enforcement, however, and no progressive message of inclusion could save Trudeau from having to uphold his countrys laws. He informed the refugees on Sunday that they would be expected to go through the countrys rigorous screening process, reminding them that illegal crossing doesnt allow them to circumvent existing laws.

This shouldnt surprise. Canadas process is one of the most rigorous in the world. Refugees aside, those who wish to immigrate to Canada must contend with a merit-based system similar to the one Trump proposed earlier this month. Skilled labor, points for French- and English-language proficiency, and high levels of education are all pre-requisites. As Trudeau is discovering, tone does not an immigration policy make.

Excerpt from:
Trudeau Cracks Down on Illegal Immigration - National Review