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Obama Admin. Admits Releasing Thousands of Illegal Immigrants, Including Drunken Drivers

Mar. 14, 2013 5:28pm Jason Howerton

WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of denials, the Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that it had, in fact, released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants from immigration jails due to budget concerns during three weeks in February. Four of the most serious offenders have been put back in detention.

The administration had insisted that only a “few hundred” immigrants were released for budgetary reasons, challenging as inaccurate a March 1 report by The Associated Press that the agency had released more than 2,000 immigrants in February and planned to release more than 3,000 others this month. Intense criticism led to a temporary shutdown of the plan.

The director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, told a congressional panel Thursday that the agency had actually released 2,228 people from immigration jails over the course of three weeks, starting February 9, for what he described as “solely budgetary reasons.” They included 10 people considered the highest level of offender.

After the administration had challenged the AP’s reporting, ICE said it didn’t know how many people had been released for budget reasons but would review its records.

Morton, who testified with two other agency officials, told lawmakers that the decision to release the immigrants was not discussed in advance with political appointees, including those in the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. He said the pending automatic cuts known as sequestration was “driving in the background.”

“We were trying to live within the budget that Congress had provided us,” Morton told lawmakers. “This was not a White House call. I take full responsibility.”

The House appropriations subcommittee chairman, Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, pressed Morton about the agency’s claims that immigrants were routinely released, and Morton acknowledged that the release of more than 2,000 immigrants was not routine.

“At the time this release started, the president of the United States was going around the country telling people what the pain was going to be from sequester,” Carter said. “That’s a fact. That was the atmosphere. It was Chicken Little, the sky is falling, almost.”

Morton told Carter that more immigrants were released in Texas than in any other state but did not name other states where they were released.

Morton said that although the most serious offender category can include people convicted of aggravated felonies, many of those released were facing financial crimes. Those released include immigrants who had faced multiple drunken driving offenses, misdemeanor crimes and traffic offenses, Morton said.

The AP, citing internal budget documents, reported exclusively that the administration had released more than 2,000 illegal immigrants since at least Feb. 15 and planned to release 3,000 more in March due to looming budget cuts. Napolitano said days later that the AP’s report was “not really accurate” and that the story had developed “its own mythology.”

“Several hundred are related to sequester, but it wasn’t thousands,” Napolitano said March 4 at a Politico-sponsored event.

On March 5, the House Judiciary Committee publicly released an internal ICE document that it said described the agency’s plans to release thousands of illegal immigrants before March 31. The document was among those reviewed independently by the AP for its story days earlier.

The immigrants who were released still eventually face deportation and are required to appear for upcoming court hearings. But they are no longer confined in immigration jails, where advocacy experts say they cost about $164 per day per person. Immigrants who are granted supervised release – with conditions that can include mandatory check-ins, home visits and GPS devices – cost the government from 30 cents to $14 a day, according to the National Immigration Forum, a group that advocates on behalf of immigrants.

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Comments (32)

G-WHIZ
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 10:32am
As these are “released” give them the addresses of all commicrats so they have a place to live/squat!!

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Papi97
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 9:13am
When, not if, when one of these criminals murders an American, Obama and the Dems need to be charged as accomplices. It won’t be long.

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oldincarolina
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 9:03am
This could be called a Preidental prison break. If just one of these inmates that were released commits a crime that results in the death of an innocent person, someone should go to prison for releasing them . Obama has gone too far on this one .

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- closetotheedge
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 11:14am
  If Congress would act,it would find obama n co guilty of treason since they came to office. Giethner is going to CFR as a senior fellow and all the others being moved around,and if need be out comes a Susan Rice to word for word spread the word oba,not guilty. Rice has a chance as Amb,to the UN? But Congress and the Senate have guilty ones too. Hanging is the punishment for treason so E.Holder AG will also be charged.Smuggling guns to our enemies in MX,Syria,AlQi Egypt,etc So oba released 2,000,4,000? Free to do what? Not deported? This done for budget cuts? What a line of kaka! He gets away with murder and DHS ready to arrest us for being a christian,or pro-life? NDAA or Camp FEMA who when Sandy hit the FEMA camp was closed due to the weather, Traitors? What say ye?
  
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rbolt
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 5:27am
BS, BS, BS. Everything that comes out of Obama’s mouth is BS. He blames congress for letting the illegals out of jail? He signed the bill. He has the power to decide what gets cut and what doesn’t. He is overplaying the cuts for his own agenda, he sure looks stupid.

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dosdelgados
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 2:09am
Deport them today, won’t cost anything tomorrow.

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- spikebu
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 5:36am
  $164 per day? For my family of 5 that would be $820 a day! $5740 per WEEK! Nearly $23,000 per month. I could pay my bills (including mortgage, feed my family, 5 dogs, and 6 chickens) 7 and a half times for that. The government can only house and feed 5 people for $23,00/month. It’s so much easier to spend “other people’s” money, huh?
  
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sinner-saint
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:45am
Arrest and lock up obama and all his cohorts in crime!!! Remove these marxist communist bastards from office!!!

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Nightfall
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:40am
All these illegals get released, and my wife looses her green card and gets deported for a nonviolent offense. Makes me want to vomit.

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- Nightfall
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:41am
  *loses
  
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- nzkiwi
  Posted on March 15, 2013 at 6:16am
  I’m very sorry to hear that. What happened?
  
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Bonnieblue2A
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 12:06am
Impeach!

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HigherRoad
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:41pm
Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!

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sevaliente
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:34pm
Some have asked the question, if they were illegal; why were they not deported? The answer is probably bureaucracy, or better said; governance that impedes an individual from satisfying his legal obligations. The most disturbing focus of the story is that, these criminals have actually already been guilty of at least two crimes. Now, this is the point that all Americans should applaud, 2,228 were released. Drum roll…, please! 10 were serious offenders and to protect society “4″ are back in detention. That is a pitiful .02%, and we do not even know if those four are considered in the group of the 10 most serious offenders. Well done, the administration has scored an amazing .02%. Unfortunately, this was not a Final Exam, we still have much more to put up with.

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FEMALL
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:19pm
…too bad Feinstein couldn’t have also viewed the carnage of dead children and families killed by drunk drivers everyday. Then we could ban cars from law abiding citizens. Outrageous? Think about it: Maybe anyone who consumes alcohol per their govt medical record needs their car impounded by police for safety.

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bobbo1179
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:47pm
Why waste even 30 cents a day? Deport them if they are illegal immigrant criminals. Pretty simple. D@mn these politicians.

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discernomatic
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:33pm
I have been saying it for years, our current president is a controller/abuser and we, as a nation, are the victim. The criminals were released on purpose to hurt this nation. Also, since the current president’s political party is blaming Republicans for an inability to compromise (abusers typically accuse their opponents of exactly what they themselves are doing), releasing the prisoners was blamed on the Republicans. The reduction made to the tax hike was completely insignificant and would not even be noticed if the same percentage were removed from each program across the board. Any reactions like letting illegal immigrant criminals loose can only be on purpose. Stop giving our current President and his cronies the benefit of the doubt and start questioning their motives with every action they take. Don’t be lulled by their excuses. Abusers often count on their victims being lulled and count on them to forget the last offenses they performed. Each new offense is separately excused. Recognize the pattern of offenses for what it is. Evidence of their true motives.

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- FEMALL
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:13pm
  **I have been saying it for years, our current president is a controller/abuser and we, as a nation, are the victim. **
  …and after every beating the cycle of tension rises where we can feel the next beating coming…indeed.
  
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TH777
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:09pm
Oh please! Can someone lock him up! He’s a danger to this Country just as much as criminals are. Well actually even more of a danger.

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- demsrtraitors
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 10:52pm
  and so are the people who voted for him
  
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- TH777
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:21pm
  @Demsrtraitors: Amen!!
  
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SCARY313568
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:58pm
The modern day Nero watches as Rome burns and blames everybody but himself.

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Soulfire1975
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:53pm
He could have cut things like DHS EPA, and many many other departments. This is a ploy to try and make conservatives look bad. Which will back fire because this pres is a piece of crap

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demsrtraitors
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:49pm
wow, releasing diseased illegal aliens like a plague on the America people so he can punish them,
How many of them have HIV? TB? or God knows what else. So much for the Governments role in protecting its citizens. And just think democrats and liberals want you disarmed on top of all this. Heaven help you if you can’t see the evil in this administration and the sickness and hatred in the people who voted for them

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- rickc34
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:42pm
  Yes Obama is a fool, he would rather put in danger those he swore to protect and release criminals onto the public.
  
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JQCitizen
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:01pm
Yes, the Immigrants they are releasing cost about .30 to $14.00/ day to keep outside of prison; – That is, until you count the money that a mother or father who are killed by one or these drunk drivers, and there is NO INSURANCE to provide for their children. That is only ONE example of the hidden costs of tolerating these illegals in our nation!

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- JQCitizen
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:14pm
  I meant to say if you count the lost financial support for a child or children who are orphaned by a drunk driver.
  
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Nuclear Bumpkin
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 7:56pm
“advocacy experts say they cost about $164 per day per person”

John Morton should be fired for that reason alone.

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johnpaulkuchtajr
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 7:53pm
Morton is being sued by his OWN PEOPLE for the absolutely wacky policies he puts in force, many of them obviously contrary to US law.

Just another of the many Obama drones that will hear the chilling words of a federal judge at a time in the not-too-distant future: “Hang by the neck until dead” for treason against the USA.

If I have any money left by the time this is over, I’ll buy the rope.

“Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!”

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GardenoftheGods
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 7:49pm
@Shadowsting NO, no one can believe anything that comes out of the NObama admin.Obama and Carney can’t get their story straight on who decided to close the White House Tours, Napolitano & Obama tell 2 different stories about the number of illegals released (all in red states don’t you know); and on and on it goes. This POTUS & FLOTUS don’t seem to know the truth, even when it hits them in the face. It’s time to charge Obama with Treason over Benghazi & start impeachment proceedings. I’m sick of the lying. To top it all off, have you seen this “CommonCore” BS they’re pushing on our kids in school? It’s just too much Big Brother & Big Government, without any care for the little people known as We the People. A Revolution is coming; heed the call!

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- johnpaulkuchtajr
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:06pm
  Yep, I saw Beck tonight and marveled that there was even one more thing left that they could screw-up! Every day we awaken to find another sob trying to screw-over our country. “They” are at the local, state and federal level in ranks that seem to swell each day.
  
  I don’t get it. Where did these people grow up? Were they all grown in hothouses in Hawaii and harvested to be loosed among us?
  
  “Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!”
  
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shadowsting
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 7:37pm
Does anyone believe anything that comes out of the White House anymore?

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